West Papua: Vanuatu Calls on UN to Take Action on Human Rights Abuses
Photo Courtesy of: Radio New Zealand
During a debate at the United Nations headquarters in New York, a representative of Vanuatu urged the Human Rights Council to investigate violations happening in West Papua. The representative emphasized that peaceful demonstrators are being arrested and that more should be done regarding this issue. Additionally, he called upon the Indonesian government to grant international journalists and observers access to the region and to allow them to report on the situation in West Papua.
The article below was published by Radio New Zealand:
Vanuatu has urged the United Nations to take action on Indonesian human rights abuses in West Papua.
Speaking during at a UN debate in New York, a Vanuatu representative said his government continued to receive reports of human rights violations in Papua.
Setareki Waqanitoga noted recent arrests of Papuans for holding peaceful demonstrations.
Mr Waqanitoga welcomed acknowledgement of the Papua situation by UN Special Rapporteurs on basic rights.
But he called on the UN Human Rights Council to do more.
"We call on the council to work with the Indonesian government to allow the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression to visit West Papua to get the objective and independent view of the situation on the ground in that region," he said.
"(We) also call on the government of Indonesia to grant free and full access of international journalists to West Papua, and allow a human rights fact-finding mission by the Pacific Islands Forum to visit West Papua."
