The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS or ACP) has sent a letter to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). In the letter, the Solomon Islands Foreign Affairs Minister and President-in-Office of the OACPS Council of Ministers, Jeremiah Manele, called upon the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to push for “an urgent mission to West Papua to provide an evidence-based, informed report on the human rights situation”. The ACP affirmed that it recognises Indonesia’s sovereignty over West Papua but considers the request part of its commitment to human rights, the rule of law, and democratic principles.
In January 2019, the Indonesian government agreed to allow a visit by Ms Michelle Bachelet, the incumbent UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to Indonesia. Despite Jakarta’s positive response, the OHCHR could not secure the government’s permission to visit Indonesia’s easternmost provinces Papua and Papua Barat. Calls for an independent fact-finding mission to West Papua have also been voiced by the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in October 2020. However, the calls for an independent fact-finding mission under the UN high commissioner’s office leadership have not been successful due today.
