AWPA (Sydney) given John Rumbiak human rights award

Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)

PO Box 28, Spit Junction, NSW 2088

Dear AWPA supporters,

We are honoured to report that The West Papua Advocacy Team has given its annual John Rumbiak Human Rights Defenders Award to Anne Noonan and Joe Collins and the Australia West Papua Association (Sydney).  The John Rumbiak Human Rights Defenders Award is given annually by the West Papua Advocacy Team to organizations and individuals who have contributed to the protection of human rights in West Papua.  AWPA is pleased and humbled by the award and we thank the West Papua Advocacy Team for this award. The award honours the legacy of John Rumbiak, who did so much to put West Papua on the international agenda. John now lives in New York having suffered a stroke in 2005. 

In giving the award the West Papua Advocacy Team stated "The Australia West Papua Association (Sydney) is a non-partisan, non-religious organization which has supported the Papuan people in West Papua for over a decade. The association works to disseminate information about the situation in West Papua."

Past winners of this award are Carmel Budiardjo and Tapol (2008), John M. Miller and the East Timor and Indonesian Action Network (2009), Andreas Harsono (2010), and U.S. Congressional Delegate Eni Faleomavaega (2011). 

AWPA’s role is to lobby and inform the Australian Government and the International Community and in particular regional organisations such as the Pacific Islands Forum and the Melanesian Spearhead Group to raise concerns about the human rights situation in West Papua.  We regularly put out urgent actions and reports on incidents of human rights abuses and continue to lobby the Australian Government to halt our involvement in training the Indonesian military. AWPA has also put submissions into Senate inquiries concerning the human rights situation in the territory. AWPA supports the right of the West Papuan people to self-determination.

Networking with other NGO’s is an important part of AWPA’s work. AWPA thanks its supporters and all the West Papuan groups and individuals who contribute to the West Papuan cause, as well as other Australian and international progressive organisations who are committed to human rights and the prevention of conflict. The award includes a plaque and a $500 cash stipend. AWPA will donate the money to West Papua.