West Papua – advocacy, dialogue & engagement

Last Updated on Monday, 17 June 2013 11:37

LOGO-45-40mm-wtPiPP Editorial

As we approach the MSG Leaders’ Summit, it’s time to talk frankly and openly about West Papua’s future.

Melanesian leaders face a question integral to their collective identity: How and whether West Papua should be given membership in the sub-regional group.

Since its inception, PiPP has seen its role as one of assisting decision makers at all levels to find and evaluate the facts, opinions and points of view essential to good policy-making. The issue of self-determination for the indigenous peoples of West Papua is clearly a legitimate and increasingly pressing question. It’s clear as well that, as difficult -indeed intransigent- as it may appear to be, it must ultimately be addressed. Doing so may be hard, but it must be done. The MSG summit provides us with a small but significant window of opportunity to do so.

There are legitimate, potentially severe, political, economic and social implications to such a dialogue and any actions that might ensue, but they apply equally to the current lack of engagement on the topic.

Realpolitik notwithstanding, there is a prima facie case to be made that the indigenous peoples of West Papua deserve the same political and societal legitimacy that membership in the MSG provides. As the Grand Chief, Sir Michael Somare recently stated, the MSG is as much a gathering of peoples as nations. At the same time, it must be recognised that engagement between parties advocating stances at any point between full independence and the status quo of Indonesian sovereignty requires care, tact, respect and -most important of all -well-supported facts and information.

To this end, PiPP has solicited a number of pieces containing opinion and analysis, examining the historical, strategic, economic and legal ramifications of the question of West Papuan self-determination. Our purpose is not to end the conversation, but to provide us with the intellectual fodder to continue it. What we have so far is admittedly far too limited in scope. To that end, we welcome further submissions from interested and informed parties of all perspectives. Contact pipp@pacificpolicy.org if you wish to participate in this historic dialogue.


2 Comments
  1. Andrew   |  Sunday, 16 June 2013 at 11:12 am

    The legal reality is that the United Nations made West Papua a trust territory and the current Indonesian administration is in violation of article 76 of the UN Charter which the General Assembly made UN members subject to when it made resolution 1752 (XVII).
    The UN members including the Pacific UN members have a legal obligation to remind the Secretary General that he needs to add General Assembly resolution 1752 (XVII) to the agenda of the Trusteeship Council, which the Secretary General was required but failed to do in 1962.

  2. West Papua – advocacy, dialogue & engagement | Outrigger: Blog of the Pacific Institute   |  Wednesday, 19 June 2013 at 11:46 am

    [...] On the eve of the MSG Leaders’ Summit, the Pacific Institute for Public Policy argues that, “it’s time to talk frankly and openly about West Papua’s future. Melanesian leaders face a question integral to their collective identity: How and whether West Papua should be given membership in the sub-regional group…” [read more in this PiPP Editorial]. [...]


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