Home

Human Rights in West Papua 2015

Details: Published on Wednesday, 11 November 2015 12:21

In its latest report, the ICP brings together the research of 25 organisations and experts from in- and outside West Papua on the situation of human rights, indigenous peoples' rights and the conflict situation there. It details in particular the demographic development and its causes as well as the ongoing violence by security forces that targets indigenous Papuans.

The development of the human rights situation in West Papua during 2013 and 2014 shows a deterioration compared to the period covered by the ICP’s previous report. West Papua on the Guinea island bordering Asia and the Pacific and comprising the two east Indonesian provinces of Papua and Papua Barat continues to be one of the regions of Asia most seriously affected by human rights violations and an unresolved long standing political conflict. The living conditions of the indigenous Papuan peoples are in stark contrast to those of the trans-migrants from other parts of Indonesia.

Human Rights in West Papua 2013

Details: Published on Friday, 21 June 2013 12:42

50 years ago, on May 1, 1963, Indonesia took over control of Papua from the UN. Since then Papuans’ lives have been marked by violence, the lack of access to effective remedies concerning right violations, as well as marginalisation and discrimination. As a result, Papuans are deeply disappointed by the Indonesian Government’s administration of Papua and regularly voice their disapproval. The government often resorts to the excessive use of force to silence such protests, however. The call for a dialogue to take place between stakeholders in Papua and Jakarta, as a peaceful means to discuss the problems in Papua and find solutions to these, have not led to the required action by the government.

Human Rights Update West Papua - 4th Quarter 2017

Details: Published on Wednesday, 10 January 2018 14:21

In the fourth quarter of 2017, the monitoring of human rights violations does not show a significant improvement in terms of violence in West Papua. While the number of political arrestees has decreased, the number and pattern of cases of political arrests remained consistent. The police appears to target arrests more instead of mere mass arrests. The West Papua National Committee KNPB continues to be the main target group of political arrests in West Papua. The number of extra-judicial executions or arbitrary killings as well as the number of torture victims has not decreased. The same applies to the number of assaults against journalists and human rights defenders. The right to health continues to be of serious concern, particularly in the central highlands of West Papua, which continue to be vulnerable to outbreaks of transmittable diseases.

Human Rights Update West Papua - 3rd Quarter 2017

Details: Published on Wednesday, 11 October 2017 09:20

In the third quarter of 2017, the number of torture and ill-treatment cases reported throughout the third quarter of 2017 have significantly increased from 17 to 135 victims. This is related to mass arrests in Nabire and a violent shooting in Deiyai Regency. Extra-judicial killings continue to occur in West Papua on frequent basis. One can also observe a significant increase of cases in which human rights defenders were obstructed, intimidated or attacked. Severe government negligence with regard to health services are a growing concern, particularly in the central highlands of West Papua. Local media and human rights defenders already reported two cases of epidemic outbreaks, which have cost the lives of 130 people since the beginning of 2017 – most of them children. While no political arrests occurred during the first quarter of 2017, the series of political arrests related to suppression of Papua-related political demonstrations - both in and outside of West Papua - continue. While most numbers indicate an aggravation of the general human rights situation in West Papua in comparison to previous quarters, one could observe a slight decrease with regard to assaults and obstruction of journalists. There are indications for a general trend since 2015 of the number of treason charges to have continuously decreased.

Human Rights Update West Papua – 2nd Quarter 2017

Details: Published on Saturday, 08 July 2017 03:12

In the second quarter of 2017, the number of torture and ill-treatment cases has significantly increased while the cases of extra-judicial killings have dropped in comparison to the previous quarter of 2017. While the months January to April 2017 were comparatively quiet in terms of political arrests, activists and human rights defenders reported at least 321 political arrests during the second quarter of 2017, which mainly occurred in May. One can observe a greater variety of violations during the reporting period covering also violations against human rights defenders, political arrests and violations of the right to health. The strategy to criminalize peaceful political activists with treason charges continues to be commonly applied by law enforcement agencies in West Papua. The violations during this reporting period were equally committed by members of police and military units. At least four cases with the involvement of police officers were brought to the attention of police-internal investigation body PROPAM between April and June.

Human Rights Update West Papua – 1st Quarter 2017

Details: Published on Tuesday, 13 June 2017 08:38

In the first quarter of 2017, security forces killed four indigenous Papuans while the perpetrators remain untouched by law. The killings occurred in the regencies Kepulauan Yapen, Jayawijaya and Dogiyai. These Papuan regencies continue to be classified as 'red zones', where security force members tend to label indigenous Papuans as supporters of separatist Assaults movements. Hence, security force operations are conducted with a high level of violence. The majority of violations were committed by police officers during arrest or detention, where victims are vulnerable to acts of torture. The period between January and March 2017 revealed a case pattern, comprising violations such as extra-judicial killings, torture, violations of indigenous peoples rights, limitations regarding media freedom and violations of the right to fair trial.

International Debate on West Papua

Details: Published on Friday, 14 October 2016 04:23

This is a compilation of statements made by government representatives regarding West Papua. This includes statements made at United Nations meetings and various regional and sub-regional bodies regarding the conflict and human rights situation in West Papua or the human rights policies in Indonesia affecting the situation in West Papua. Any part of this compilation may be reused.