West Papua: UK FCO Human Rights Report 2007

West Papua: UK FCO Human Rights Report 2007

United Kingdom Foreign & Commonwealth Office Human Rights Report 2007

Extract: Indonesia & West Papua

For the full report see:

http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/Human%20Rights%20Report%202007.pdf

Page 34

In Indonesia, the peace agreement, signed in Aceh in September 2005, continues to hold. This is being interpreted as an indication of President Yudhoyono's willingness to be imaginative in trying to address some of the longer running conflicts.

Nevertheless, low level conflict in the Province of Papua continues. We believe that the full implementation of the special autonomy legislation (passed in 2001) would be an important step in resolving the complex issues in Papua. However, there are still obstacles, and progress is slow. We continue to encourage peaceful dialogue and to urge all Papuan groups and the Indonesian government to engage constructively on this.

Although the human rights situation in Indonesia has improved significantly over the past few years, we continue to have concerns, which we raise, about the situation in Papua, in particular restrictions on access to Papua by NGOs and journalists, allegations of violations by the Indonesian armed forces and regular reports of threats against human rights defenders.

The UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, Ms Hina Jilani, visited Indonesia in 2007 and raised such threats with the Indonesian authorities. We have also raised this issue, and we are now working with our EU partners towards greater engagement with the Indonesian government in support of human rights defenders.

Impunity continues to block greater progress on human rights issues and we urge the government of Indonesia to ensure that those responsible for human rights violations are brought to justice. We therefore welcome the commitment of the government of Indonesia to investigate fully and prosecute those responsible for the death of prominent human rights defender Munir Said Thalib, who died on a plane to the Netherlands in October 2006.

***

Page 107

We funded a conference held by the central body of the Kristen Church in West Papua to look into the effects on their community of the 2006 regulation on establishment of places of worship. We have also launched a project aimed at studying discriminatory by-laws across Indonesia.

To read THE FOREIGN SECRETARY'S (David Miliband MP) SPEECH AT THE LAUNCH OF THE FCO's 2007 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT (25/03/08)

See: http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391647&a=KArticle&aid=1203953265668

ENDS

Latest World News | Top World News | World Digest | Archives | RSS

© Scoop Media