Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to reports of up to 45,000 civilians displaced by Indonesian military operations in Nduga, West Papua, if the Government will stop the (a) sale of arms and (b) provision of training programmes to Indonesia.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
HM Government takes its export control responsibilities very seriously. All export licence applications are assessed against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria (the ‘Consolidated Criteria’).
The Consolidated Criteria takes into account our obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty and other relevant rules of international law. It provides a thorough risk assessment framework and requires us to think hard about the possible impact of providing equipment and its capabilities. These are not decisions we take lightly.
HM Government will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with the Consolidated Criteria, including where we assess there is a clear risk that it might be used for internal repression.
The United Kingdom supports counter-terrorism training for the Indonesian National Police, through the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC). This includes a broad range of counter terrorism investigation and analytical skills; essential equipment to enhance Indonesia’s forensic, surveillance and IT capabilities; and training on the post-terrorist incident response, including first aid training. All training requires rights and responsibilities to be upheld. We do not provide training to Papua based units but continue to monitor the situation in Papua closely. HM Government respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia, which includes Papua and West Papua provinces.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations he has made to his Indonesian counterpart on Indonesian military operations in the West Papuan regencies of Nduga, Intan Jaya and Puncak Jaya.
Answered by James Heappey
The Defence Secretary has not made representations to his counterpart on Indonesian military operations in Nduga, Intan Jaya and Puncak Jaya, but the Foreign Secretary discussed Papua with the Indonesian Foreign Minister on 14 October 2020. British officials in Indonesia are monitoring developments closely. The British Government fully respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia, which includes the Papua and West Papua provinces. We urge parties to refrain from violence and respect the rule of law.
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, with reference to the Pacific Islands Forum and Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States request for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit and prepare a report on West Papua, whether the Government plans to support that request.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The UK supports a visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (ONHCR) to Papua. Officials from the British Embassy have discussed the proposed visit of with the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and continue to encourage the Indonesian Government to agree dates as soon as possible. The former Minister for Asia and the Pacific, Heather Wheeler attended the Pacific Island Forum in August 2019, noting the communiqué. It is our longstanding position that we regard Papua and West Papua provinces as being part of Indonesia and consider dialogue on territorial issues in Indonesia as a matter for the Indonesian people.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 13 October (HL8595), what was the reply given by the government of Indonesia to Heather Wheeler’s representations about West Papua at their meeting in January 2020.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We do not usually publish records of conversations - doing so may set a precedent whereby Her Majesty's Government is pressured to publish further conversations.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
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 representatives of the (a) Pacific Islands Forum and (b) Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States on their call for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to be permitted access to West Papua by Indonesia to prepare an independent report into the humanitarian situation in the area.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Foreign Secretary has not discussed the request with representatives of the Pacific Islands Forum or the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States regarding the UN High Commissioner. However, the then Minister for Asia and the Pacific attended the Pacific Island Forum in August 2019, noting the communique. Officials at the British Embassy in Jakarta have discussed the proposed visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) with the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and continue to encourage the Indonesian Government to agree dates as soon as possible. It is our longstanding position that we regard Papua and West Papua provinces as being part of Indonesia and consider dialogue on territorial issues in Indonesia as a matter for the Indonesian people.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
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 his counterpart in Indonesia on the that country's military operations in the West Papuan regencies of Nduga, Intan Jaya and Puncak Jaya.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The Foreign Secretary has not discussed the request with representatives of the Pacific Islands Forum or the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States regarding the UN High Commissioner. The then Minister for Asia and the Pacific attended the Pacific Island Forum in August 2019, noting the communique. Officials at the British Embassy in Jakarta have discussed the proposed visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) with the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and continue to encourage the Indonesian Government to agree dates as soon as possible. It is our longstanding position that we regard Papua and West Papua provinces as being part of Indonesia and consider dialogue on territorial issues in Indonesia as a matter for the Indonesian people.
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 about police action in response to peaceful protests by students at Cendewasih University in West Papua.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of the protests by students on 28 September 2020 at Cenderawasih University in Papua. We have not raised this specific case with the Indonesian authorities, but we regularly press them to address legitimate human rights concerns, including upholding the right of peaceful protest. The former Minister for Asia and the Pacific, Heather Wheeler, raised Papua with the Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mahendra Siregar, during her visit to Jakarta in January 2020.
Asked by: Chris Grayling (Conservative - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2020 on Developing Countries: Forests, how much funding her Department allocated to each of those international forestry projects.
Answered by James Duddridge
The total budgets allocated to the international forestry projects listed in the Answer of 12 March 2020 are provided in the table below.
Project | Duration of funding | Total budget allocated |
Nepal Multi-Stakeholder Forestry Programme | 2011-2016 | £16,124,703 |
Forest Governance, Markets and Climate (Global) | 2011-2023 | £280,000,000 |
Investments in Forests and Sustainable Land Use (Global) | 2015-2023 | £ 102,596,352 |
International Forestry Knowledge programme (Global) | 2012-2017 | £36,987,765 |
Forestry, Land-use and Governance in Indonesia | 2015-2020 | £32,549,986 |
Improving Livelihoods and Land Use in Congo Basin Forests | 2015-2020 | £15,260,720 |
Green Economic Growth for West Papua (Indonesia) | 2016-2022 | £11,512,311 |
Supporting a Sustainable Future for West Papua’s Forests (Indonesia) | 2018-2020 | £6,200,000 |
Total |
| £501,231,837 |
Asked by: Chris Grayling (Conservative - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2020 to Question 1890 on Developing Countries: Environment Protection, if she will list the international forestry projects that have received grants from her Department in each year since 2016.
Answered by James Duddridge
The international forestry projects receiving funding since 2016 are as follows:
In addition, DFID supports forestry projects through its grant contributions to two multilateral funds, the Global Environment Facility and Green Climate Fund.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Indonesian counterpart on the arrests and trials of the group of West Papuan human rights defenders known as the Papuan Six.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We are aware of the arrest, and subsequent charging, of six people after they took part in a demonstration in Jakarta on 28 August 2019. We have not raised this specific case with the Indonesian authorities, but we regularly press the Indonesian authorities to address legitimate human rights concerns, including upholding the right of peaceful protest. The UK fully respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia, including Papua. The former Minister for Asia and the Pacific (Mrs Wheeler), raised Papua with the Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mahendra Siregar, during her visit to Jakarta in January 2020.