MSG Puts Indonesia on Notice Over UN Rights Visit to West Papua

Indonesia’s status in the Melanesian Spearhead Group could be reviewed in 2027 if Jakarta does not facilitate a long-requested visit by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to West Papua.

MSG leaders reached the decision during a caucus held alongside the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting in Koror, Palau. The United Liberation Movement for West Papua welcomed the move, portraying it as a shift away from diplomatic language and toward accountability over the situation in the territory.

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We are deeply encouraged by the decision of the MSG leaders to move beyond the language of diplomacy and toward the language of accountability.

ULMWP Vice President Executive Octovianus Mote said the movement had long pressed for that change. “We are deeply encouraged by the decision of the MSG leaders to move beyond the language of diplomacy and toward the language of accountability,” he told PACNEWS. He said Papuan suffering was finally being heard by Melanesian leaders.

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The goodwill of the MSG leaders, who welcomed Indonesia with the intention of bringing Papua and Indonesia to the same table to seek a peaceful and meaningful way forward, with the facilitation of Melanesian leaders within the MSG, was instead used to undermine and marginalise the ULMWP.

Mote argued that the MSG initially admitted Indonesia in hopes of creating dialogue between Jakarta and representatives of West Papua. Instead, he said, Indonesia’s participation had been used to marginalize the ULMWP. He accused Jakarta of invoking sovereignty to avoid scrutiny of allegations involving human rights and the treatment of Indigenous Papuans.

Mote described what the ULMWP considers “a slow-motion genocide,” along with environmental destruction and the erosion of Papuan identity. He said restrictions on journalists, diplomats and international humanitarian organizations had limited independent access and kept the situation largely out of international view. “By limiting independent scrutiny and access to West Papua, the suffering of the Papuan people has been kept largely out of sight of the world,” he said. Mote urged the MSG to maintain pressure and ensure that Papuan rights, dignity and aspirations receive attention. Fiji’s Foreign Minister Sakiasi Ditoka, whose country currently chairs the MSG, also commented on the decision, but the provided material does not include his full remarks.

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By limiting independent scrutiny and access to West Papua, the suffering of the Papuan people has been kept largely out of sight of the world.