West Papuan Petition for Referendum signed by 1.8 million people delivered to the UN
“Today is a historic day for me and my people. I consider this petition to be the bones of the people of West Papua, to represent all the people who have been killed,” said Chair of the ULMWP, Benny Wenda, in Geneva, Switzerland, quoted by Reuters on Monday (1/28).
Benny said that under Indonesian rule, Papuans did not have the freedom of opinion, expression and assembly.
He considers the only way to get that freedom through a referendum on independence represented by this petition signed by almost three-quarters of the total 2.5 million Papuans.
“This (petition) weighs 40 kilograms, like the biggest book in the world,” Benny said.
UN Human Rights Commissioner confirms receiving the West Papuan petition
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, confirmed that High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet received the West Papuan People’s Petition on Friday 25th January 2019.
Petition demands
The petition has three key demands of the United Nations, and reads as follows:
We call on you to urgently address the human rights situation in West Papua and to review the UN’s involvement in the administration of West Papua that led to its unlawful annexation by Indonesia ‐- and the human rights abuse that continues today. We call upon you to: – appoint a Special Representative to investigate the human rights situation in West Papua; – put West Papua back on the Decolonisation Committee agenda and ensure our right to self‐determination – denied to us in 1969 – is respected by holding an Internationally Supervised Vote (in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolutions 1514 and 1541 (XV)).