UN, please end the colonization of West Papua
- af: Andrew Johnson, Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)
- mottagare: The Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization
The normal process is for a UN member to make a motion at the UN General Assembly asking for the ICJ advisory opinion, but that Assembly only meets once a year and motions can only be made by a UN member willing to speak up for West Papua.
But, research has now revealed that the World Tourism Organization (WTO) is able to ask for this ICJ opinion within WTO scope, and is probably obliged by agreement with the United Nations to do so. We believe the WTO is the only organization other than UN members which is able to assist West Papua get the ICJ's advisory opinion.
copy to High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navanethem Pillay
We the undersigned,
Ask the Executive Council to please use your authority from Article 10 of the Agreement between the United Nations and the World Tourism Organization, to request an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) about the sovereignty and colonial status of the Netherlands New Guinea (West Papua) which was the subject of United Nations General Assembly resolution 1752 (XVII).
We believe there is need under article 3 of the Statutes of the World Tourism Organisation and article 11 of the Agreement between the United Nations and the World Tourism Organization, for the organization to request the ICJ advisory opinion. The region's indigenous people and tourism industry should benefit if tourists knew whether the region is a colonial territory or not. The region's indigenous people and tourism should benefit if the forty seven year conflict over the legality of sovereignty between the indigenous people and the region's administration, was settled with benefit of independent ICJ advisory opinion. And, if the claims of the indigenous people were supported by the ICJ advisory opinion, the United Nations would be able to assist the region with decolonization.
Overview
The Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1962 signed a US drafted agreement trading the people of the Netherlands New Guinea without their consent to third party control by the Republic of Indonesia.
The US drafted agreement was written after free elections in 1961{1} and after control began to be transferred to the indigenous New Guinea Council. We also draw your staff's attention to the admissions in the US Department of State summary{2} for 1961-63 that the US in 1961 understood %u201Cannexation by Indonesia would simply trade white for brown colonialism%u201D, and that %u201Cthe Kennedy administration pressed the Netherlands to accept this agreement%u201D.
Whether the Netherlands signed the agreement of it's own free will or not, we are not aware of any entitlement for the Netherlands or the United Nations to sign a contract trading a people without their consent to foreign rule.
The United Nations General Assembly resolution 1752 (XVII) appears to be contrary to resolutions 1514 (XV) and 1541 (XV), contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and contrary to the United Nations charter. We believe the decolonization of the West Papua has been suspended for 48 years contrary to UN General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV); and that an ICJ advisory opinion would be the most peaceful path forward.
Current human rights violations
Urgency is requested to mitigate the on-going human rights violations including torture{3}, ex-judicial assassinations{4}, ex-judicial killings{5}, ex-judicial disappearances{6}, rape{7}, and ethnic/cultural cleansing{8}. The foreign security forces and population have been taught for 47 years that Papuan people and cultures are inferior, and there is little regard for Papuan life.
We believe the circumstances would oblige the High Commissioner for Human Rights under UN General Assembly resolution 48/141 to provide any active assistance she can to overcome any obstacles to obtaining the ICJ advisory opinion for the people of West Papua.
References :
1 New Guinea Council elections,
New York Times articles from 1961 see http://wpik.org/Src/nyt-text.html
Sydney Morning Herald 6th April 1961 see http://wpik.org/Src/SMH.html
Report to United Nations on colony for 1961, chapter 1 part D %u201CGovernment%u201D
see http://wpik.org/Src/un_report_1961.html
2 US Foreign Relations 1961-63, Southeast Asia; see http://wpik.org/Src/1961_US_record.html
3 See videos made as trophies by Asian security forces working in the Papuan Pacific. http://papuamerdeka.%uFFFDblogspot.com http://wpik.org/Src/Media.html
These include taunting the Free West Papua movement and Mr Yawan Wayeni as %u201Ca dumb Papuan%u201D as he died on video from being disembowelled; the kicking and beating of prisoners already subdued on the ground, and the torture of others with burning sticks, knives and guns.
4 Victims of assassinations include national leaders Theys Eluay (2001) and Kelly Kwalik (2009) as well as unknown numbers of local and religious leaders.
5 Please see video about murder of Opinus Tabuni at an United Nations gathering organised in West Papua, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtvbQjFiztU
For Gelesema massacre see ABC documentary %u201CBlood on the Cross%u201D
http://www.journeyman.tv/8959/documentary-films-archive/irian-jaya-blood-on-the-cross.html
and text at http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/s39706.htm
For Biak massacre, see http://westpapua.ca/en/node/356 and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbbndM9U4Fs
Please Google the murders of Reverend Kuan and his son Septinus on 15 September 2010 as the US State Department prepared it's evidence for the US Congress hearing into systemic abuse stating that Indonesia is a democracy whose borders are respected by the United States.
Please Google the shooting of PETAPA peace volunteers in Wamena on 4 October 2010.
6 Please see the Yale Law School study %u201CIndonesian Human Rights Abuses in West Papua: Application of the Law of Genocide to the History of Indonesian Control%u201D (2004)
http://www.law.yale.edu/documents/pdf/Intellectual_Life/West_Papua_final_report.pdf
Please see the Sydney University's report %u201CGenocide in West Papua? - Genocide%u201D
http://sydney.edu.au/arts/peace_conflict/docs/WestPapuaGenocideRpt05.pdf
7 We refer you to the legendary cases also cited by the Yale Law School report from page 62.
8 See %u201CWest Papuan Demographic Transition and the 2010 Indonesian Census:
%u201CSlow Motion Genocide%u201D or not?%u201D by Jim Elmslie, Centre Peace and Conflict Studies, Sydney University. see http://sydney.edu.au/arts/peace_conflict/publications/working_paper_series.shtml
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