1) Pacific leaders urged to act on Kanaky and West Papua
Friday, 4 September 2026 • ByTe Aniwaniwa Paterson
Pacific Islands Forum leaders are under pressure to do more for Kanak people and West Papua, with advocates demanding stronger action on decolonisation, human rights and self-determination.
Kanak communities are still living with the trauma of the deadly unrest that swept Kanaky in 2024, while West Papuan communities face reports of escalating military violence and displacement.
At a caucus on the margins of the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, which concludes today in Palau, the Melanesian Spearhead Group pressed for accelerated decolonisation in Kanaky and renewed regional and United Nations human rights missions to West Papua.
Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu, who led the country’s delegation, said Kanaky and West Papua were among its key priorities. He said Vanuatu wanted West Papua returned to the Forum agenda and would seek strong regional support for Kanaky’s decolonisation.
Kanaky, New Caledonia, remains on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories under French administration.
The unrest that began in May 2024 left 14 people dead, hundreds injured and communities facing lasting trauma and economic hardship, according to a statement from Pacific civil society groups.
The MSG has now approved a roadmap supporting the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front, known as the FLNKS.
After being briefed by FLNKS president Christian Tein, leaders called for a new decolonisation process that is “Kanaky in design and Melanesian in spirit”.
They also supported a renewed Pacific Islands Forum Troika mission to Kanaky to help prevent further violence.
Pacific civil society groups said the human cost of the unrest had been overshadowed by discussion of economic losses and reconstruction.
They called for greater regional monitoring of humanitarian and detention conditions, the return of Kanak people transferred to prisons in metropolitan France and an official United Nations visiting mission.
Scrutiny sought in West Papua
In West Papua, conflict between Indonesian security forces and armed independence groups has forced communities from their homes, while access for international observers remains restricted.
The MSG reaffirmed its longstanding support for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit the Papuan provinces.
It also offered additional representation to a Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Envoys mission expected to take place in 2026.
It remains unclear whether Indonesia has agreed to the mission, when it would take place, or whether the envoys would have unrestricted access to affected communities.
United Liberation Movement for West Papua executive member Paula Makabory said the humanitarian situation had reached a “critical juncture”.
Her organisation has alleged an escalation in extrajudicial killings and the use of drones and landmines in civilian areas.
It pointed to a reported drone strike in Intan Jaya in June that allegedly killed an elderly Papuan woman and seriously injured two others, and the reported fatal shooting of a young man in Yahukimo.
Makabory called for independent investigations, an end to military operations in civilian areas and unrestricted access for the United Nations.
“The indigenous people of West Papua are an integral part of the Melanesian family,” she said.
“Their ongoing suffering directly weakens the security and solidarity of the entire Pacific region.”
Indonesia has previously said its security operations in Papua are necessary to protect communities from armed groups and are conducted in accordance with human rights principles and international law.
Te Ao Māori News has contacted the French and Indonesian embassies in Aotearoa for a response.
2) Dozens protest against PAPEDA Summit 2026 in Sorong
News Desk September 3, 2026
Sorong, Jubi — At least 15 people staged a peaceful protest at a hotel in Sorong, Southwest Papua Province, where the PAPEDA Summit 2026 is being held on Wednesday (02/09/2026).
The protesters said they opposed the summit, which is taking place from 2 to 4 September 2026.
The demonstration began at around 4pm Papua time. Protesters held banners calling for the PAPEDA Summit to be dissolved, with one reading: “Dissolve the PAPEDA Summit. The PAPEDA Summit is a new weapon for national strategic projects.”
Another banner read: “Papua is not a carbon market.” The protesters also chanted, “Reject the PAPEDA Summit.”
During the protest, Yosepus Nauw said the PAPEDA Summit did not represent the interests of Papua’s Indigenous peoples.
He said Indigenous communities were currently fighting largely on their own to protect their forests and customary lands.
“They have been campaigning about the Indigenous people’s economy from the beginning until today. They campaign about protecting our land and forests, but today our forests and land are disappearing. Our forests are being destroyed,” Nauw said.
“Dissolve the PAPEDA Summit 2026. Our land is not for companies. Don’t deceive Indigenous people,” he said.
The PAPEDA Summit is a major gathering involving stakeholders from Papua’s six provinces and will run until 4 September 2026.
The summit emerged from a series of meetings involving governors in Manokwari, West Papua Province, and Timika, Mimika Regency, Central Papua Province. It was later followed by a meeting involving more than 50 civil society organisations in Jayapura, Papua Province, in March 2026.
The forum features 100 speakers across five plenary sessions and 15 parallel sessions, with 1,030 participants expected to attend.
Nauw said local and national governments, as well as civil society organisations, should instead focus on discussing the protection of Indigenous communities.
He said Indigenous people had become victims of corporate investment and armed conflict between the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) and Indonesian security forces.
“The [PAPEDA Summit] has no benefit. We, the Indigenous people, are the victims. What do you mean by sustainable development? What development are you talking about?” he said.
“Indigenous people who own the forests and land have been shot in Maybrat. Are they stones? And then you say this is for Indigenous people — which Indigenous people are you talking about? Indigenous people are being shot. These are the people who own the land, forests and water,” Nauw said.
PAPEDA Summit 2026 organising committee chairman Julian Kelly Kambu said he respected those who opposed the event.
He said the summit had involved Indigenous communities from across Papua.
“We will listen to their aspirations. If our friends have concerns or proposals, they are welcome to put them forward. There is nothing hidden. We can oversee this together,” Kambu told Jubi on Wednesday.
“If there are specific points, they can be raised. If people say this is not for Indigenous communities, almost all the participants here are Indigenous people. They have come here bringing their local potential and knowledge,” he said.
Kambu said the PAPEDA Summit was intended as a forum for discussion, bringing together concepts, ideas and proposals and connecting government policy with the problems faced by Indigenous communities in Papua.
He said the gathering also provided an opportunity for Papua’s regional governments to evaluate their development policies affecting Indigenous communities.
“All of the participants are Indigenous people. This is a discussion space to talk about blue carbon and green carbon, leadership and policy, the environment, social issues and the economy,” Kambu said.
“This is a space where we can discuss and collect concepts, ideas and proposals. Going forward, we can make changes. If there are important matters that need to be proposed, including policy changes, our friends can raise them through their actions,” he said.
As of 6.09pm Papua time, protesters were still at the site of the event.
Police and Indonesian military personnel maintained a heavy security presence around the demonstration. (*)
3) Melanesian countries to review Indonesia's status at MSG if no action on West Papua visit
Johnny Blades
Melanesian countries are pushing Indonesia to facilitate a long-requested visit to West Papua by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights or have its membership in their regional bloc reviewed.
A request for the visit was made by Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) countries back in 2019, but it has still not gone ahead, despite ongoing human rights violations in Indonesian-ruled Papua region, known internationally as West Papua.
Frustration has built up among the Melanesian countries in the intervening years that Jakarta has not yet allowed the visit to take place.
Now the members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) say that if a visit by the Commissioner's office is not facilitated by Indonesia in order for a report on human rights issues in West Papua to be produced by their next summit in 2027, then Indonesia's associate member status in the MSG will be reviewed.
The full members of the MSG are: Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia's FLNKS Kanak Movement. The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has observer status at the MSG, and Indonesia has associate member status.
The MSG has issued a statement from the current PIF leaders summit in Palau, saying Melanesian leaders "urged continued engagement with Indonesia to facilitate access by the end of Indonesia's term as President of the Human Rights Council on 31 December 2026".
MSG members requested the bloc's current chair, Fiji, to write to Indonesia to allow the visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to West Papua to produce a report on human rights issues in Papua, and to have the report delivered for consideration at the next MSG summit in 2027.
Leaders "affirmed that if these actions are not undertaken the Associate Member status shall be reviewed accordingly at the next MSG Summit in 2027".
They also requested MSG member country embassies in Jakarta to "support appropriate follow-up and engagement on this matter".
Furthermore, the members are considering a proposal for MSG leaders to meet Indonesia's president Prabowo Subianto on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York last this month.
Since taking office last year, Prabowo has overseen an increase in Indonesian military deployments to West Papua where a long-running conflict with the West Papua Liberation Army has escalated in recent months, causing mass displacement of some Papua village communities in the regtion around Highland Papua province.
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