Press Release International Lawyers for West Papua

International Lawyers for West Papua
 
 Press Release:
 21st October 2010
 
 Torture has no place in any civilised nation.
 
 The International Lawyers for West Papua (ILWP) condemns unreservedly the
 torture of indigenous Papuans by Indonesian security forces. 
 

A recent video shows Indonesian security forces beating and kicking indigenous Papuans. The video shows Indonesian security forces burning a man 's genitals while he screams in pain. This brutal conduct is a crime against humanity and  is prohibited by international law.

The rule of law
 
 We once again ask the United Nations and the international community of States

• to uphold international law and
• to condemn the torture of West Papuans;
• to insist that Indonesia puts an immediate stop to torture in West Papua, punishes the torturers and compensates the victims;
• to insist on the removal of Indonesia's military forces from West Papua and to replace them with a United Nations peacekeeping force.

Self-determination
 
 It is now widely recognised that West Papua’s right to self-determination was
 violated by Indonesia in the so-called Act of Free Choice in 1969.
 
 Self-determination is a peremptory norm in international law. The only remedy
 is to enable West Papua to freely exercise its right to self-determination. We
 once again ask the United Nations to place West Papua under international
 administration and to hold a genuine act of self-determination for indigenous
 West Papuans.
 
 Melinda Janki
 Melinda Janki LLB, BCL, LLM
 Chair ILWP