The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) meets. Where is West Papua?

 Australia West Papua Association (Sydney) 

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) meets. Where is West Papua?

Statement 5 October 2022

 

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) began its general debate on decolonization and related agenda items on the 3rd October, with speakers underscoring their nations’ commitment to eliminating colonialism in all corners of the world.

 

 

According to the UN, there are 17 remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories in the world. In our region there are six. American Samoa,  French Polynesia,   Guam , New Caledonia, Pitcairn and Tokelau. 

 

                                           https://www.un.org/dppa/decolonization/en/nsgt

 

In opening remarks, the President of the General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi (Hungary) said the future of the 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories must be established under international law and postulated on the peaceful settlement of disputes.  “It is up to us to ensure that this Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism is the last of its kind,” he said. 

 

Joe Collins of AWPA said, “the obvious omission on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories is West Papua.” 

“While many countries are  referring  to the Russian held referendums in the four regions of the  Ukraine as a sham. One of the biggest  “sham referendums" occurred in our region in 1969 when the Indonesian Government (under UN supervision) held  the so-called Act of free choice in West Papua.  Indonesian chose just  over 1000 West Papuans to take part and they were basically forced to integrate with Indonesia.” 

 

The Jakarta Globe has reported that the Indonesian government has implied that it won’t recognize the results of the  referendums in the four regions   

and 

"Such referendum will further complicate efforts to peacefully resolve the conflict and perpetuate the war, which will only cause suffering to all." 

https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-wont-recognize-russias-claim-of-four-ukrainian-regions

 

Since Indonesia took over the territory of West Papua the West Papuan people have suffered ongoing human rights abuses. Numerous recent reports have stated that the Violence in West Papua continues to escalate with increasing conflict between the Free Papua Movement and the Indonesian security forces. The West Papuan people are calling for a real act of self-determination.

 

West Papua should be a UN responsibility and a good start would be for the UN to send a fact-finding mission to West Papua to investigate the human rights situation in the territory.

Ends

———

Fourth Committee Approves Programme of Work for Seventy-Seventh Session

https://press.un.org/en/2022/gaspd747.doc.htm

 

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West Papua Exposed: An Abandoned Non-Self-Governing and Trust TerritoryGriffith Journal of Law and Human Dignity, Volume 6 Issue 2, 2018

West Papua Exposed: An Abandoned Non-Self-Governing or Trust Territory

Abstract
  This paper examines the shift in legal status under the United Nations Charter, with the transfer of West Papua from the Netherlands to the United Nations in 1962 via the 'Indonesia and Netherlands Agreement concerning West New Guinea (West Irian)'. It advances that this agreement must be a Trusteeship Agreement shifting West Papua's legal status from a Non-Self-Governing Territory of the Netherlands to a Trust Territory of the United Nations. As such, the United Nations with work of the Trusteeship Council was, and remains, responsible to ensure the West Papuan people attain self-government or independence as required under Article 76(b) of the Charter.

Link: paper ("West Papua Exposed")

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