UN Commission on Human Rights

Fifty-fifth session

Provisional agenda item 15

Indigenous issues

Oral statement by the Transnational Radical Party, a non-governmental organisation in general consultative status

Delivered by Giulia Spagnoletti-Zeuli

Geneva, 19 April 1999

Madam Chairperson,

In many countries where Indigenous Peoples are located policy and legislative reform is occurring in response to the demands of Indigenous Peoples to enjoy, without discrimination, the universally recognized human rights and freedoms.

Recalling the resolution adopted by the General Assembly in relation to the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People which among others states that "the goal of the decade is to strengthen international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous people in such areas as human rights, the environment, development, education and health", some facts occurring in West Papua strongly indicate a systematic genocide of the ethnic Melanesian people in that region.

These indicators include the transmigration projects, indiscriminate shooting, summary killing, destruction of property, intimidation, arbitrary detention, disappearance, and other kinds of human rights violations towards the indigenous people of West Papua who ask for independence. At Jayapura 1998, Steven Suripatti, a student of Cenderwasih University was shot to death and the traditional community leader, Theys Eluay has been arrested. It is obvious that the development policies of Soeharto's regime have denied among others the cultural-heritage and biological rights of indigenous people of West Papua. Until now there have been more than 500,000 Papuans killed whilst more than 600,000 migrants from other provinces have been moved in into West Papua under the transmigration program.

These severe conditions remind the people of West Papua that the United Nations (UN) had taken the decision which led to the replacement of the "act of free choice" in 1969 with "act of no choice". This unjust democratic process was actually initiated by the Bunker Plan as suggested by the United States and was supported by other countries that deny the existence and well-being of the West Papuans.

Such attitudes have been justified by an official memo written by a US advisor in November 1961: "inevitably, West Irian will go... to Indonesia. The only question is will it go with our help and in such a way that we can get some credit for it... ?"

Furthermore an official memo from the UN representative in West Irian during that occasion, Dr. Ortiz Sanz, in accordance to the New York Agreement, article 251 justifies his regret to express his reservation regarding the failure of the implementation of article XXII.

And therefore, on the 26th of February 1999, a hundred delegates from West Papua were able to peacefully make a political statement before His Excellency, President B.J. Habibie in Jakarta. The statement demands that Indonesia should recognize the independence of West Papua which was declared in December 1961. For West Papuans, finding a just and peaceful answer to this aspiration will be a comprehensive solution to a long standing problem of ethnic cleansing in West Papua. In return, President Habibie was very democratic by asking the West Papuans to reconsider their demand.

Madam Chairperson,

The violation of the rights of indigenous peoples in West Papua has in fact been driven by political motivations. While appreciating the genuine dialogue initiated by president Habibie and the oral statement made by a team from World Council of Churches, we would also like to call upon the United Nations to kindly take preventive initiatives by:

* encouraging continual and genuine dialogue that benefit the West Papuans and Indigenous Peoples in general;

* assigning a Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples with an understanding of the need to provide financial resources for the staff of OHCHR;

* establishing a Permanent Forum for Indigenous Peoples;

* adopting the draft declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples as it is.

And finally Madam Chairperson we appeal to all states to please contribute to the Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations and the Voluntary fund for the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson.