Pacific Greetings,
We, the undersigned civil-society organizations from West Papua and across the Pacific, write with urgency ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' Meeting in September. For nearly two decades, the Pacific Island Leaders Forum has made commitments to the people of West Papua, but these have been largely unfulfilled, and the situation on the ground continues to worsen. Now is the time for decisive action.
Attacks and oppression of the people of West Papua have escalated, leading to a significant deterioration in the region's humanitarian and human rights situation. The number of internally displaced people and refugees has surpassed 100,000*, a grim milestone that underscores the gravity and scale of the crisis. Most of those displaced are women, elderly persons and children, forced from their homes by ongoing violence and insecurity. Essential services have been disrupted, and there are widespread reports of intimidation and arbitrary arrests.
Despite concerns by West Papuan groups, Pacific civil society organisations, international human rights groups and respective Pacific Leaders, there has been insufficient action and attention to the ongoing human suffering and oppression. These realities challenge our shared vision of a peaceful, people-centered "Blue Pacific" and an "Ocean of Peace."
Pacific responsibility: Honouring commitments and taking action on West Papua
From the 31st Pacific Islands Leaders Forum (PIF) in Tarawa, Kiribati (2000) to the 50th Forum in Tuvalu (2019), and across Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Summits from 2014 to 2025, Pacific leaders have consistently adopted resolutions expressing grave concern over the escalating crisis in West Papua.
Time and again, Forum communiques have acknowledged the root causes of the conflict, the persistence of state violence, and the deteriorating human rights situation facing the people of West Papua, our own Pacific family. Leaders have reiterated their commitment to a fact-finding mission and entrusted the Forum Chair with engaging Indonesia in meaningful dialogue.
One of the region's clearest and most consistent calls has been for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to be granted unimpeded access to West Papua, a call echoed again at the 2023 MSG Summit. In support of this, Special Envoys, the Prime Ministers of Fiji and Papua New Guinea, were appointed to engage with Indonesia and report back to the Forum. Yet, their mandate expired in November 2023 without clear results. As of mid-2025, neither envoy has visited West Papua.
Meanwhile, Indonesia has deepened its presence in regional platforms, maintaining associate membership in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), holding dialogue partner status with the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), and strengthening bilateral ties with individual Forum members. These relationships should not be seen as diplomatic constraints, but as opportunities: channels through which Pacific leaders can assert their collective voice, exercise moral authority, and demand that Indonesia uphold its international obligations.
The 2024 Forum Communique merely "noted" the Envoys' report from their visit to Jakarta. This muted response, while a resurgent humanitarian crisis deepens, sends a troubling message to those on the ground: their suffering is being acknowledged, but not acted upon.
This is not a remote crisis, it is a Pacific crisis. West Papuans are part of our Melanesian family, part of the soul of this region. And yet, action has been lacking. Insufficient urgency. Insufficient solidarity.
This reality stands in striking contrast to the principles we proudly uphold as a region committed to a peaceful, people-centered "Blue Pacific", self-determination and an "Ocean of Peace". How can we claim such a vision while turning away from the cries of our own people in pain? Now is the time for courage. For unity. For decisive leadership.
We call on the incoming Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum to honour their past commitments, through action. Let us collectively urge Indonesia to demonstrate real accountability by allowing immediate and unrestricted access to West Papua for independent human rights observers, including the UN High Commissioner.
Our call to action:
- Fulfill outstanding commitments to independent scrutiny.
- Re-issue, with clear timelines, the invitation for an Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) mission.
- Implement the previously committed Pacific Islands Forum fact-finding mission which must report back to the 2026 Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting.
- Linked to the PIF Fact Finding Mission, facilitate a civil-society-led "People's Mission" to ensure West Papuan voices are credibly heard.
- Ensure a rapid, needs-based humanitarian response.
- Activate and facilitate neutral, humanitarian mechanisms to deliver food, shelter, medical care, and protection for internally displaced communities and assist those seeking refuge in Papua New Guinea.
- Resource and protect local relief responders from West Papua.
- Champion a mediated ceasefire and adherence to international humanitarian law.
- Use the Forum's good offices and leadership capacities, in partnership with civil society – especially with women-led mediation capacities in multi-track peace efforts – to actively encourage all parties to enact and monitor a ceasefire.
- Press for full respect of civilian protections under the Geneva Conventions and unimpeded humanitarian access.
One of the region's clearest and most consistent calls has been for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to be granted unimpeded access to West Papua, a call echoed again at the 2023 MSG Summit. In support of this, Special Envoys, the Prime Ministers of Fiji and Papua New Guinea, were appointed to engage with Indonesia and report back to the Forum. Yet, their mandate expired in November 2023 without clear results. As of mid-2025, neither envoy has visited West Papua.
Note
As of mid-August 2025, European NGO, Human Rights Monitor, which is tracking displacement numbers in West Papua, highlighted that more than 100.313 people remain internally displaced as a result of armed conflict between Indonesian security forces and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), with new displacements reported in the regencies of Jayawijaya, Intan Jaya, Yahukimo, Puncak, and Nduga. Report at https://humanrightsmonitor.org/reports/idp-update-august25-humanitarian-crisis-amidst-ongoing-military-operations/(accessed at 2 Sep 2025). In addition to those internally displaced, the Immigration & Citizenship Services Authority (ICSA) of Papua New Guinea, estimated about 10,000 refugees who had cross the border from West Papua region (Indonesia) into PNG https://ica.gov.pg/refugees/facts-and-figures-about-refugees-in-png (accessed at 2 Sep 2025).
Download Open Letter as PDF: https://pang.org.fj/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Open-Letter-from-West-Papua-and-Pacific-CSOs-to-Pacific-Leaders-and-CROP-agencies-on-the-situation-in-West-Papua.pdf