UN Commission on Human Rights 54th session, March 1998

1 October 1999

Mr Chairperson,

In the past, Minority Rights Group International (MRG) has expressed concern about the situation of indigenous peoples and stressed the need to adopt the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as adopted by the sub-commission, in its current form without changes.

This year, we would like to highlight the situation of the peoples living on the land west of Papua New Guinea, land which they call West Papua, and which Indonesia calls Irian Jaya.

MRG recently published an updated version of its report on East Timor and West Papua. We would like to present the findings concerning West Papua to this commission, and would be happy to make the report available to interested delegations.

The 1969 "Act of Free Choice", which led to West Papuas transfer into Indonesia, was in fact a sample of pro-Indonesian opinions drawn from 1,025 tribal leaders selected by the Indonesian government. The outcome of the "Act" was noted with no comment by the UN General Assembly because at the time, the international communities priorities lay in other areas. The consequences of this resolution have been drastic for the peoples of West Papua.

Mr Chairperson, why is the situation so worrying in West Papua?

First, since the 1960s, there has been an armed conflict between the main political and guerrilla movement of West Papua, the OPM (Free Papua Movement), and ABRI, the Indonesian armed forces. This conflict has cost both the government and the West Papuan people a great deal both in economic and human terms.

It is unlikely that this conflict will end, because neither of the fighting parties has the capacity to win complete control of the territory. This means that unless an amicable and just solution is found, this situation may perpetuate itself, causing unending human rights violations and human suffering.

Second, in order to reduce the level of population living on the islands of Bali, Java and Sulawesi, the government has embarked on a policy of transmigration, partly financed by the World Bank. West Papuas population currently accounts for 1.8 million, of whom 770,000 are migrants who came under the transmigration scheme. Another 700,000 people are scheduled for migration within the next two years.

This will have devastating consequences for the indigenous peoples of West Papua. It means that more land will have to be taken in order to build housing for the new arrivals. This goes against the traditional system of ownership of land of the indigenous peoples. Many of them do not want to move, because they follow ancestor worship and therefore cannot live on some distant territory. In addition, although the island is sparsely populated, the land is not very fertile and has a short wet season, which means that it cannot support large numbers of people. It will also increase the competition between immigrants and local people for jobs.In addition, it will mean that the indigenous people will become a numerical minority within their own territory.

Third, both the level and types of economic activity carried out on the island - such as mining and logging - are very harmful to the indigenous peoples. West Papua contains the worlds richest gold mine and second largest open-cut copper mine at Grasberg. Mining activities led to the river system becoming toxic and silt-laden. Most flora was killed, including the sago palm, which is a staple food for the local people.

The mining also had social consequences. A dormitory town was created at Tembagapura to house the workforce. In consequence, 3,000-5,000 local Amungme people were displaced. Overall, only 5 per cent of the employees of the mine are local West Papuans, which means that very little of the economic rewards of this activity goes back to those who are most disturbed by it.

Finally, logging is also a very important activity and 43 logging companies operate on the island. West Papuas forested area is second only to the Amazon basin in size and comprises approximately 24 per cent of Indonesias total forested area.

Logging companies are often granted concessions by the government, which does not recognize the indigenous peoples rights to forest land. The latter often find themselves evicted from their traditional living areas and when they enter land to hunt or gather firewood they are charged with trespassing.

Mr Chairperson, the latter patterns described are in fact common to many indigenous peoples.

MRG urges the Indonesian government to halt its policy of transmigration immediately and to give due regard to the demands and needs of the indigenous peoples of West Papua. In particular, land taken away from them should be returned or fair and agreed compensation should be offered to them.

MRG urges the government as well as the economic actors operating in West Papua to involve the peoples of West Papua in any decisions regarding economic activities and to take into account their advice and needs. Positive returns from these activities must be shared with the local peoples.

MRG urges the Commission on Human Rights to raise these concerns with the Indonesian government.

In conclusion, Mr Chairperson, we would like to emphasize MRGs continued support for adopting the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as it was transmitted to the commission, as well as encouraging the commissions working group to welcome indigenous representatives to participate in discussions around this draft.

We also reiterate, as we did in 1995, that we warmly support the idea of a Permanent Forum for indigenous peoples and encourage the commission to further its work in this direction, with the full participation of indigenous representatives.

Thank you, Mr Chairperson.