Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to tackle the political and conflict situation in West Papua as part of its role as the UN Security Council penholder on peacekeeping and protection of civilians in armed conflict.

The British Government follows the situation in Papua closely. We respect the territorial integrity of Indonesia. Officials at the Embassy in Jakarta, visit Papua and West Papua provinces regularly. I met the Indonesian Ambassador in January and raised Papua with him, and I addressed a parliamentary debate on the issue on 8 May.

We fully support efforts by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and her officials to arrange a visit to Papua at the invitation of the Indonesian government. Officials in our Embassy in Jakarta have discussed the proposed visit with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and encouraged Indonesia to agree dates as soon as possible.