West Papua petition tabled in New Zealand

NEW ZEALAND – A petition has been tabled in New Zealand’s parliament calling on the government to make a number of representations on the plight of West Papuans.

The public petition, which garnered 1367 signatures, was handed over to a group of Labour and Greens MPs on Monday before being tabled in the chamber.

It calls on the parliament to urge the New Zealand government to address the ongoing human rights situation in West Papua by taking a series of actions.

These include publicly advocating for the Indonesian government to uphold the rights of the indigenous people of Papua region, or West Papua, to freedom of assembly and freedom of speech.

It also calls for Indonesia to be condemned for the arrest and intimidation of thousands of peaceful protestors in West Papua in the last two years, as well as the for “state sanctioned torture and killing of West Papuans”.

The petition urges New Zealand to support the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression for a visit to West Papua and to implore the Pacific Island Forum to also support the stand and advocate for Papua at the UN. - RNZI