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West Papuan delegation reports threats to human rights and the environment |
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 Last week a civil society delegation from West Papua, Indonesia, visited Brussels to meet with NGOs and representatives of the EU institutions. The delegation, which consisted of members of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission and the Protestant Church, attended a parliamentary briefing on Thursday 15 May as well as bilateral meetings with representatives from the European institutions and civil society throughout the week. The delegates called attention to the environmental threat posed by biofuels production and to continuous violations of the human, social and economic rights of the indigenous population of West Papua. The Indonesian government granted Special Autonomy to West Papua in 2001, but the delegation was critical of how this had been implemented, arguing that the associated funds had been used to benefit an immigrant elite rather than to genuinely devolve power to the population. The delegation drew attention to the exploitation of natural resources, especially forests, minerals and palm oil, under the auspices of the police and military, who are granted impunity by the legal system. Political activists and human rights defenders in the region are constantly threatened by repression and torture. The delegation called on European NGOs and the EU institutions to recognise and address the conflict in West Papua. They urged the EU to facilitate dialogue with the Indonesian government on human rights and governance and to increase the efficiency of the support programmes for the security sector reform as well as for the social infrastructure. They also stressed the need for clear production guidelines on palm oil imports to European markets and for the development of funding mechanisms to preserve biodiversity. For further details see: |
