A church leader in West Papua has backed a call for a visit from the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner.
Father Alexandro Rangga, the director of the Franciscan Office for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation in Papua, told the Union of Catholic Asian News that those in the church meet people who have been displaced or have lost family members every day.
“That is real, not a story,” he said.
“Let the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights come and see the situation firsthand. It would be better for an independent party to come and assess conditions on the ground.”
Fr Rangga said the Indonesian government does not need to be afraid.
“Opening the door could show that Indonesia respects Papuans and is serious about upholding human rights in Papua.”
“Our national institutions and legal mechanisms, including the independent National Human Rights Commission, is working continuously to address such allegations.
“Indonesia’s record of engagement with the international human rights system speaks for itself.”
Pacific Islands Forum countries in 2019 requested that Indonesia allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Papua to assess claims of widespread rights abuses.
Prior to the UNGA, Melanesian countries pushed for Indonesia to facilitate the long-requested visit or have its membership in their regional bloc reviewed.
In response, Indonesia’s government indicated that a visit was on track, but this was questioned by a leading West Papua independence group.
