75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in West Papua

On December 10, 2023, the world celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

As in previous years, in Indonesian-occupied West Papua, the celebrations were marked by police violence against pro-independence activists. In Manokwari and Timika, peaceful protests were forcibly dispersed with tear gas and water canons. Some demonstrators were beaten. At least thirty-six people were detained, including a mother with her baby!

Indeed, the face of the Indonesian regime in West Papua hasn't changed over the past 60 years. All forms of criticism and resistance, even if non-violent, are brutally silenced. Freedom of opinion and expression are human rights. But West Papuans have never been respected for their basic rights. 

Indonesia's military occupation since 1963 has resulted in an estimated 500,000 West Papuans killed. Pacification operations in the last five years have resulted in more than 60,000 refugees. Papua Office of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM Papua) reported 65 alleged human rights violations in 2023 alone.

Despite its abundance of natural resources, West Papua remains the poorest region in Indonesia. Indigenous West Papuans have lower life expectancy. Over 600,000 young West Papuans have dropped out of school. Illiteracy rates are as high as 20% in some remote areas.

For many West Papuans, Human Rights Day has a very bitter meaning because the daily reality they experience is colonization, genocide and ecocide wrapped in the sweet jargon of development.