Urgent appeal: More than 50 children die in Nduga regency

At least 51 Children and 3 Adults have died of Pertussis in Nduga Regency, Papua Province, Indonesia during past months after government neglect.
The International Coalition for Papua (ICP), together with Geneva for Human Rights – Global Training, Franciscans International, Tapol, Mission21, the United Evangelical Mission, the Asian Human Rights Commission and the Westpapua Netzwerk wishes to bring to your attention the recent deaths of at least 51 children and 3 adults due to Pertussis (whooping cough) in the districts Mbua, Dal and Mbulmu Yalma, Nduga Regency, Papua Province, Indonesia since November 2015. As the government social and health institutions did not respond to the serious situation of malnutrition and hard weather conditions in the affected area, many children died of otherwise manageable infections. As a result of the negligence, the Indonesian government failed to fulfill its obligations to protect the health and life, as stated in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in article 11/1,2 and article 12/1, 2 (a), (c) and (d).
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Is the Pacific's solidarity for West Papua on the rise?

by Budi Hernawan
Recently during a public forum on the issue of Papua organised by the Indonesian government think-tank (LIPI) in January 2016, we were drawn to the attention of the Pacific countries towards Papua. While the representatives from the Indonesian government and intelligence treated the issue as marginal, a Golkar parliamentarian, Tantowi Yahya, took the Pacific issue very seriously. He argued that the Papuan movement managed to mobilise support from the Pacific diplomatic fora, particularly the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) and the Pacific Island Development Forum (PIDF), by exposing human rights abuses committed by the Indonesian security forces.
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LIPI update: West Papua Roadmap

In 2009, the assessment team for Papua of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI Papua Team) has published the book Papua Road Map as the result of the team's studies since 2004. Subsequently, at the beginning of 2010, the LIPI Papua Team in cooperation with the Papua Peace Network (JDP) started carrying out public consultations in 26 districts and organized 6 exploratory meetings with the goal to facilitate the peace building process and reconciliation through dialogue. The exploratory meetings, which were attended by parliament members, government representatives and civil society figures, took place in Jimbaran (Bali), Manado, Lombok, Yogyakarta, Semarang and Jakarta.
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About the ICP

Human Rights and Peace for Papua is an international coalition of faith-based and civil society organisations (the Coalition) addressing the serious human rights condition in West Papua and supporting a peaceful solution to the conflict there. West Papua (Papua) refers to the western half of the New Guinea island in the Pacific and comprises the eastern most provinces of Indonesia. Indigenous Papuans are suffering from a long and ongoing history of human rights violations and security forces subject them to violence including killings, torture and arbitrary arrests. Impunity prevails. A lack of adequate access to health care and education as well as demographical and economical marginalisation and discrimination mark the living condition for Papuans. A heavy presence of Indonesian security forces, lack of access for international observers such as journalists, corruption and transmigration from other parts of Indonesia aggravate the situation. Political prisoners and the persecution of political activists shows the extent of repression with which freedom of expression and indigenous peoples’ rights are being violated. Papua’s wealth in natural resources attracts businesses and security forces resulting in exploitation through mining, logging, harmful agricultural projects, and environmental degradation. This dynamic challenges traditional indigenous culture while Papuans demand their right to self-determination.
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visit our website at www.humanrightspapua.org

Our mailing address is:
International Coalition for Papua
Rudolfstraße 137
Wuppertal 42285
Germany