launch of the West Papua Project at the University of Wollongong

The West Papua Project at the University of Wollongong presents:

 

West Papua and the United Nations Now

 

Please join us for a seminar featuring distinguished guest speakers and launching the West Papua Project at its new home, the University of Wollongong.

 

In 1969, the United Nations was mandated to oversee the Act of Free Choice in West Papua, a plebiscite intended to gauge whether indigenous West Papuans wanted independence or continued integration with Indonesia. The referendum, in which Indonesian security forces coerced West Papuans to vote against independence, was a sham, but the United Nations turned a blind eye to the injustice. Since that time, West Papuans have been petitioning the United Nations to right that historical wrong and to investigate subsequent decades of human rights abuses in the territory. Over the past two years, countries around the world have joined West Papuans in calling for an investigation. The purpose of this seminar is to hear and collect information about human rights abuses occurring in West Papua now which can be used to support the international push for a United Nations investigation in West Papua.

 

When: Friday May 21, 2021 from 09:00 – 13:00 AEST

Where: The University of Wollongong

Chair: Ronny Kareni

Cost: Free

Register*: Eventbrite registration essential: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/west-papua-project-launchseminar-west-papua-and-the-united-nations-now-tickets-153258084055

 

Speakers:

·      Benny Wenda: A ULMWP Perspective

·      Ted Wolfers: The Act of No Choice

·      Emma Kluge: West Papua at the United Nations: The Early Years

·      Veronica Koman: Racism

·      Hipo Wangge:  The Nduga Crisis

·      Jim Elmslie: The Demographic Divide

·      Norman Voss: Religious Killings

·      Victor Yeimo: The OTSUS Petition

·      Rika Korrain: The Plight of Women

 

Contact: Cammi Webb-Gannon (camellia@uow.edu.au)

*Zoom link available when you register

*This is a COVID safe event

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