Human rights in Papua

Since the downfall of the Suharto regime, Indonesiahas improved its human rights standards significantly. Now that the conflict in Aceh has been settled and the peace process seems to progress very well, this seems even more so the case. Indonesiawas elected a member of the UN Human Rights Council in 2006 and has been re-elected in 2007. The country ratified several human rights treaties (under which the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment). Indonesia's easternmost part, however, shows a gloomier image.

Severe restrictions on access to Papua for human rights monitoring groups, journalists, academics and international organisations such as the UN, make reliable information on the conditions in Papua hard to come by. News of alleged human rights violations is mostly transmitted by word of mouth. Human rights workers on the island from national and local monitors are frequently intimidated. Peaceful political activists are labelled separatists and non-violent activities--such as the raising of the morning star flag--have been heavily punished through criminal law. There are numerous well documented cases of torture and ill treatment by police officers.

In the Central Highlands region, where a low-scale independent resurgence simmers, army troops and police units engage in largely indiscriminate village 'sweeping' operations. In pursuit of suspected militants, they use excessive and sometimes lethal force. People who have fled their villages suffer from starvation and illnesses.

The Human Development Index of Papua is the single lowest in Indonesia. While Indonesia's economic indicators show a slight growth, the economic indicators of Papua, although the provinces are rich in natural resources, show a decline. It seems that those profiting most from this richness are the foreign and Jakarta-based multinationals and businessmen, not the indigenous population of the easternmost part of Indonesia.

Papuans suffer the poorest standards of education, health and life expectancy in Indonesia. HIV/Aids prevalence in Papua amounts to fifteen times the national average, while almost half of the Papuans are unaware of the illness altogether.