Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Indonesia, if any, regarding the displacement of villagers in West Papua; and what response they received.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of reports of internal civilian displacement in the provinces of Papua and West Papua following recent violent clashes between separatists and Indonesian security forces. The UK fully respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia, including the provinces of Papua and West Papua. Within this framework, we strongly support the efforts of the Indonesian authorities and civil society to address the legitimate concerns of the people of Papua and West Papua provinces, including strengthening human rights protections, providing humanitarian assistance and ensuring that all Papuans benefit from the sustainable and equitable development of their province. We support the proposed visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to Papua and encourage both sides to agree on dates for a visit.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Indonesia in support of a visit to West Papua by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; and what response they have received.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of reports of internal civilian displacement in the provinces of Papua and West Papua following recent violent clashes between separatists and Indonesian security forces. The UK fully respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia, including the provinces of Papua and West Papua. Within this framework, we strongly support the efforts of the Indonesian authorities and civil society to address the legitimate concerns of the people of Papua and West Papua provinces, including strengthening human rights protections, providing humanitarian assistance and ensuring that all Papuans benefit from the sustainable and equitable development of their province. We support the proposed visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to Papua and encourage both sides to agree on dates for a visit.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK Government has plans to supply covid-19 vaccines direct to authorities in West Papua.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK's G7 Presidency has championed equitable access to vaccines, and in June the Prime Minister announced at the G7 Leader's Meeting that the UK will share 100 million doses within the next year, 30 million of those by the end of 2021. 80% of these will go to COVAX, which remains best-placed to allocate vaccines to where they will be most effective. To date, COVAX has delivered 11.7 million vaccines in Indonesia. These have been distributed across the country, including the provinces of Papua and West Papua. The Foreign Secretary met with Health Minister Budi in April this year during his visit to Indonesia, and also discussed joint efforts to tackle Covid-19 with Foreign Minister Marsudi at the G20 summit on 29 June.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he had with the Indonesian President and Foreign Minister relating to human rights in West Papua during their visit in April 2021.
Answered by Nigel Adams
During the Foreign Secretary's visit to Jakarta on 6-7 April he attended the Third Indonesia - UK Partnership Forum. The joint statement from this dialogue highlighted both countries' commitment to promoting international law and the Rules Based International System, including democratic principles, human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Foreign Secretary discussed the UK's position on Papua with Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. The UK fully respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia and regards the provinces of Papua and West Papua as an integral part of Indonesia.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Indonesian counterpart on the deaths of three civilians on 4 June 2021 in Ilaga, Puncak Regency of West Papua.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are aware of increased tensions in the Papua region and we continue to monitor developments closely. We are aware of this incident involving civilians and my thoughts are with the families of those involved. We urge all parties to refrain from escalating tensions and welcome recent dialogue between security forces, the Indonesian Human Rights Commission and Papuan civil society leaders to ensure the protection of civilians during law enforcement operations in the region. The UK fully respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia and regard the provinces of Papua and West Papua as an integral part of Indonesia.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to (a) his Indonesian counterpart and (b) the international community on the recent comments made by General Hendropriyono that two million West Papuans be transmigrated to Manado.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK Government fully respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia, including the provinces of Papua and West Papua, and notes the continued efforts on behalf of the Indonesian government to invest in the economic and social development of both provinces in recent years. We continue to support efforts to address the needs and aspirations of the people in both provinces. General Hendropriyono is no longer an Indonesian government official and we understand that his comments do not reflect official Indonesian government policy. Ministers regularly engage with their Indonesian counterparts on a range of bilateral issues, including Papua.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Indonesian Government on the killings of (a) Zhage Sil and (b) other clergy in that country.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are aware of the death of Zhage Sil in Papua in December and support the steps that the Indonesian government has taken to investigate the incident. We recognise there are significant challenges in the region, including human rights concerns, sporadic violence and the security situation in some areas. We have not raised this specific case with the Indonesian Government, but the Foreign Secretary discussed Papua with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on 14 October 2020. The UK fully respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia, including the provinces of Papua and West Papua. We regularly press the Indonesian authorities to address all legitimate human rights concerns, including on Freedom of Religion and Belief (FORB).
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the (a) Indonesian and (b) Dutch Government on the independence movement in West Papua.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Foreign Secretary discussed Papua with Foreign Minister Retno on 14 October. The UK Government fully respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia, which includes Papua and West Papua provinces. Within this framework we support the efforts of the authorities and civil society to address the needs and aspirations of the people both provinces. The Foreign Secretary has not discussed Papua with the Dutch Government.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Indonesian counterpart on self-determination in the territory of West Papua.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Foreign Secretary discussed Papua with Foreign Minister Retno on 14 October. The UK Government fully respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia, which includes Papua and West Papua provinces. Within this framework we support the efforts of the authorities and civil society to address the needs and aspirations of the people both provinces.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, as part of their coordinated international efforts to address climate change, when they last discussed with the government of Indonesia (1) the issue of increased deforestation in Papua, and (2) allegations of illegal and deliberate fire setting by commercial interests in Papua’s rainforests in order to clear the land for palm oil production.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As part of our coordinated international efforts to address climate change, the UK Government works closely with the Government of Indonesia on shared objectives to reduce and avoid deforestation and improve the sustainability of Indonesia's palm oil sector, including through regular bilateral engagement. Our partnership incorporates UK support for a number of programmes designed to reduce and avoid deforestation in key forested provinces, including Papua and West Papua, as well as thematic programmes to promote the Government of Indonesia's initiatives on palm oil sustainability and better governance of the forest and land-use sector.