Monday, September 30, 2024

1) “Human Rights in Indonesia” side event will address crises in West Papua


2) Students intimidated by police at Nabire police station, Central Papua province

3) Minister joins polio vaccination in Southwest Papua's Sorong City 

4) TPNPB releases NZ pilot after being captured for 19 months in Papuan highlands

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1) “Human Rights in Indonesia” side event will address crises in West Papua

 WCC. 30 September 2024

A side event to the 57th UN Human Rights Council entitled “Human Rights in Indonesia,” hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and partner organizations on 1 October, will address the dire human rights situation in West Papua, with ongoing violations that include extra-judicial killings, internal displacement due to armed conflict, restrictions on civil liberties, and a growing number of cases of land grabbing.


This event will bring together grassroots representatives and experts to explore practical actions that the UN Human Rights Council and national and international actors could take to address the deepening human rights and humanitarian crises in West Papua.

The Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal will also present the findings of its July 2024 public hearings, during which it examined a body of evidence on the environmental impacts of development projects and related human rights violations in the region.

In the first six months of 2024, extra-judicial killings linked to the ongoing armed conflict between the Indonesian security forces and the West Papua National Liberation Army (OPM-TPNPB) have been recorded. A surge in armed conflict has been reported in the period April-June 2024 which has continued to drive internal displacement among the Indigenous Papuan people. As of September 2024, 79,867 people are internally displaced with no access to basic necessities such as food, healthcare services and education, and limited access to employment opportunities. If they return to their villages and homes, they are confronted with a heavy security presence, and constant intimidation and surveillance.

A growing number of cases of land grabbing have been reported from the regencies of Merauke, Mimika, Deiyai, and Sorong in the period April-June 2024, reflecting a growing trend of private investors capturing land and natural resources without obtaining free, prior and informed consent from Indigenous Papuans.

There is an urgent need for the Indonesian government to immediately address the conflict and associated human rights violations, abuses, and impunity through sustainable solutions based on the principles of human rights.

Peter Prove, director of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), will moderate the discussion. 

The Indonesian government provides very limited transparency regarding the situation in West Papua, and even less access to the region,” he said. Accordingly, the WCC is grateful that through cooperation with its civil society partners we can bring information regarding the longstanding humanitarian and human rights crisis endured by the Indigenous Papuan people to the attention of the Human Rights Council, and to the wider international community. We continue to hope that by sharing this information, the long overdue concern of the international community may yet be galvanized.

Join this event live hereTuesday, 1 October, 13:00 CEST 

(Meeting ID 3353 -CR25  "Human Rights in Indonesia", Meeting number: 2744 604 7986 Password: ufTQvPJJ877) 

Learn more about the WCC work on "Human dignity and rights"

WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs


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Human Rights Monitor

2) Students intimidated by police at Nabire police station, Central Papua province

On 29 September 2024, the five students Mr Josan, Mr Ando, Mr Joshua, Mr Cela, and Mr Emigay, all members of the ‘West Papuan Student Solidarity’, were intimidated after registering a peaceful assembly to commemorate the Rome Agreement of 30 September 1962 in Nabire, Papua Tengah Province. The intimidation occurred at the Nabire District Police Headquarters after police officers had asked the students to pick up a reply notification letter in response to the registration.
After arriving at the police station around 9:45 pm, the students were forcibly detained and questioned at the criminal investigation unit. The interrogation was carried out without a lawyer to provide legal counsel to the students. Police officers reportedly threatened the students to report their involvement in the protest to their university principal, demanding an expulsion from the university. The students were released at 1.00 am., 30 September 2024 (see photo on top).

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3) Minister joins polio vaccination in Southwest Papua's Sorong City 
 September 30, 2024 12:49 GMT+700 

Sorong (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (PMK) Muhadji Effendy participated in the polio vaccination of pupils of YPK I Syalom Elementary School in Sorong, Southwest Papua, to support the National Immunization Week (PIN).

"This immunization is meant to protect children from polio. We pay a visit to this school to ensure that the immunization runs well and smoothly," he remarked on Monday.

According to Effendy, the polio vaccination rate among children in Indonesia's Papua region, including Southwest Papua Province, still needs to be boosted.

"Some kids in several districts are still struggling with the polio disease, which should not be allowed to happen," he emphasized.

On the occasion, the minister also met with leaders of local sub-districts and public health centers and representatives of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and National Police (Polri) to discuss ways to accelerate PIN implementation in Papua, particularly Southwest Papua.

"We are resolute in completing immunization to safeguard Papua from the threat of polio," he emphasized.

Meanwhile, PMK Coordinating Ministry's Assistant Deputy for Disease Control and Mitigation, Nancy Dian Anggraeni, highlighted that 80 percent of the targeted children in Sorong City had received the first dose of the vaccine, while 53 percent of them had been vaccinated twice.

She underlined that her office and the Ministry of Home Affairs had been rolling out regular evaluations involving local leaders to expedite the implementation of PIN in Papua since July this year.

The official, however, noted that the overall rate of PIN implementation among the six provinces of Papua remains very low.

"The provision of the first dose has only progressed to 54.7 percent in six provinces, while the second phase of the PIN has only reached 38.1 percent (of the targeted children)," she pointed out.

She attributed the unfavorable trend to some parents' hesitation to vaccinate their children.


Translator: Yuvensius L, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Arie Novarina


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Human Rights Monitor
Photos in report

4) TPNPB releases NZ pilot after being captured for 19 months in Papuan highlands

On 21 September 2024, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) released Captain Phillip Mark Mehrtens, a pilot from New Zealand, into the hands of former Nduga Regent, Mr Edison Gwijangge. A crowd of villagers accompanied Captain Mehretns to the helipad in the Yuguru Village, Maibarok District in the Nduga Regency, where he was picked up by Edison Gwijangge and flown to Timika, from where he was immediately brought to Jakarta. 
The release set an end to 19 months of forced detention and hiding under the harsh conditions of the central Papuan highlands. According to a medical and psychological examination after the release, Captain Mehrtens had lost weight but was mentally and physically healthy. Jakarta officials handed over Captain Mehrtens to the New Zealand ambassador in Jakarta, from where he was flown to New Zealand to reunite with his family. 
In early August 2024, the TPNPB announced they were ready to release Captain Mehrtens unconditionally for humanitarian reasons in September 2024. The release process gained tension after unknown perpetrators killed another pilot from New Zealand in the Alama District, Mimika Regency on 5 August 2024, only a few days after the TPNPB announcement. Security forces accused the TPNPB of killing the pilot. In response, the TPNPB published a media release according to which they denied responsibility for the killing. On 17 September 2024, the TPNPB proposed a release scenario significantly differing from the actual release process.

Background

People from Yuguru accompany Captain Mark Mehrtens to the helicopter


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