Indonesia, West Papua – The Pacific state of Vanuatu, in cooperation with the Federated State of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Samoa, delivered a joint statement on the situation of human rights defenders in West Papua during the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders on 6 March 2025 at the 18th Meeting of the 58th Session of the Human Rights Council.
"We believe that human rights defenders working in isolated, remote, and rural areas should be covered by the same human rights standards as human rights defenders in general, including the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. At a global level, best practices promoting openness, transparency, and accountability must be respected to protect human rights defenders.
In this respect, we would like to encourage freedom from harassment and call for the safety of human rights defenders, all human rights defenders in the Indonesian province of Papua and West Papua, including those who advocate for humanitarian aid and the safe resettlement."
We reiterate the call made by our Pacific leaders to the High Commissioner and Indonesia to agree on a date for an independent expert visit by the High Commissioner and to report to this Council on the human rights situation in the Indonesian province of Papua and West Papua", said the Vanuatu diplomat during the session.
The statement can be viewed on UN WEB TV: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1x/k1xkfkx33w