A side event to the 57th UN Human Rights Council entitled “Human Rights in Indonesia,” hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and partner organizations on 1 October, will address the dire human rights situation in West Papua, with ongoing violations that include extra-judicial killings, internal displacement due to armed conflict, restrictions on civil liberties, and a growing number of cases of land grabbing.

This event will bring together grassroots representatives and experts to explore practical actions that the UN Human Rights Council and national and international actors could take to address the deepening human rights and humanitarian crises in West Papua.

The Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal will also present the findings of its July 2024 public hearings, during which it examined a body of evidence on the environmental impacts of development projects and related human rights violations in the region.

In the first six months of 2024, extra-judicial killings linked to the ongoing armed conflict between the Indonesian security forces and the West Papua National Liberation Army (OPM-TPNPB) have been recorded. A surge in armed conflict has been reported in the period April-June 2024 which has continued to drive internal displacement among the Indigenous Papuan people. As of September 2024, 79,867 people are internally displaced with no access to basic necessities such as food, healthcare services and education, and limited access to employment opportunities. If they return to their villages and homes, they are confronted with a heavy security presence, and constant intimidation and surveillance.

A growing number of cases of land grabbing have been reported from the regencies of Merauke, Mimika, Deiyai, and Sorong in the period April-June 2024, reflecting a growing trend of private investors capturing land and natural resources without obtaining free, prior and informed consent from Indigenous Papuans.

There is an urgent need for the Indonesian government to immediately address the conflict and associated human rights violations, abuses, and impunity through sustainable solutions based on the principles of human rights.

Peter Prove, director of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), will moderate the discussion.

“The Indonesian government provides very limited transparency regarding the situation in West Papua, and even less access to the region,” he said. “Accordingly, the WCC is grateful that through cooperation with its civil society partners we can bring information regarding the longstanding humanitarian and human rights crisis endured by the Indigenous Papuan people to the attention of the Human Rights Council, and to the wider international community. We continue to hope that by sharing this information, the long overdue concern of the international community may yet be galvanized.”

Join this event live here, Tuesday, 1 October, 13:00 CEST 

(Meeting ID 3353 -CR25  "Human Rights in Indonesia", Meeting number: 2744 604 7986 Password: ufTQvPJJ877) 

Learn more about the WCC work on "Human dignity and rights"

WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs