Human Rights Council: Join us to a panel discussion on "Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples in Asia: Cases in West Papua" on 25 September

Cases in West Papua

25 September 2013, 12:00 – 14:00, Room XXII, Palais des Nations

This parallel event aims at critically reviewing the humanrights situation of Indigenous Peoples in Asia, with specific focus on WestPapua, in Indonesia. With considerably limited access to effective complaint mechanismsto provide remedies, members of indigenous communities in Asia face stateviolence, stigmatization and suffer from the exploitation of natural resourcesthey hold customary rights to. As marginalized groups indigenous peoples faceadditional challenges to claim their rights, including institutionaldiscrimination and a context often marked by conflicts.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of the IndigenousPeoples in his report mentioned on the “widespreadnegative impacts of extractive projects that are implemented in or nearindigenous peoples’ territories in paces throughout Asia”. Further he alsomade a reference on the cases of militarization of indigenous peoples’territories and that the presence of military forces in he indigenous areas isalleged to have resulted in a number of violation of human rights of indigenouspeoples.

A serious example in Asia is the situation ofindigenous Papuans in Indonesia. There has been continuous violation of humanrights of the indigenous Papuans and the fact that the international access toPapua has been made very difficult. UN Special Procedures, independent foreignjournalists and other international observers are not given access to thisconflict region. The panel will shed light on sources of the conflict andongoing impunity and will discuss strategies to ensure peace and protection ofrights.

Panelist

1. Mr. Gustaf Kawer, Human rights lawyer

Victimization based on ethnicity: Remedies for victimsof torture among indigenous Papuans

2. Ms. Answer Styannes, Asian Human Rights Commission

History of violence and prospects for conflict resolution: Case study ofhistory of mass violence in West Papua

3. Mr. Leonard Imbiri, YADUPA

The use of Free Prior and Informed Consent in cases of natural resourcesextraction affecting indigenous peoples

Discussant:

Mr.Muridan S. Widjojo, Center for Political Studies, Indonesian Institute ofSciences

Moderator

Mr. Adrien-Claude Zoller, Geneva for HumanRights – Global Training (tbc)

Lightrefreshment will be provided

We arevery happy that the WCC will host a reception organized by the internationalcoalition for Papua on Monday. September 23, 18.00 – 19.30 at the EcumenicalCentre, World Council of Churches, where you can have more in depth interactionwith the human rights defenders from Papua