On 21 December 2021, the Catholic Bishop Conference in Papua New Guinea and the Solomons published a call for dialogue to find a peaceful solution to the long-lasting conflict in West Papua. The bishops issued this call in response to multiple moral calls by the West Papua Council of Churches (WPCC) in November and December 2021 in which the Papuan church leaders expressed concern regarding the aggravation of armed conflict, internal displacement of indigenous peoples as well as the persecution and criminalisation of human rights defenders raising awareness on the situation in West Papua.
The clerics underlined that the Indonesian Government. Should take the initiative to initiate a dialogue. “There is no international agreement, legislative initiative, development process and much less military action that can bring about peace and harmony; it can only be, rather, the result of a humble and listening attitude by all parties, beginning with the most powerful and better armed”. Moreover, the bishops called upon both conflict parties to allow a peace process facilitated by the United Nations, and other countries in South East Asia and the Pacific region.
