Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Indonesian counterpart on human rights violations, alleged killings carried out by the military and attempts to increase logging in West Papua.

In January 2015, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised the situation in the Indonesian province of Papua with the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), spoke to Indonesian President Joko Widodo about West Papua during his visit to Jakarta in July.

We will continue to press the Indonesian authorities to address legitimate concerns and ensure the sustainable and equitable development of the provinces. Through our Embassy in Jakarta, the UK is delivering a £10m programme on land use and low-carbon development in Papua to help create a sustainable pattern of development and protect the environment. Our Embassy staff visit the provinces regularly, discussing our concerns with government officials, civil society leaders and human rights defenders. Most recently, our Ambassador in Jakarta visited Papua in June and raised these issues with members of the local administration, police, and religious and community leaders.