NEW YORK, (PACNEWS)-Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Cooper Wale has renewed calls for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit West Papua, saying reports of human rights violations must be independently verified.
Addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, Wale said Solomon Islands respected Indonesia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity but would continue to speak about West Papua because its people were “our Melanesian brothers and sisters.”
“Reports of human rights violations in West Papua have persisted for far too long. They must be independently verified, not left in dispute,” Wale said.
He called on Indonesia to facilitate the long-awaited visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“We therefore renew the call of Pacific Islands Forum leaders for the Government of Indonesia to facilitate, without further delay, the long awaited visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to West Papua,” he said.
Wale said such a visit should be seen as an act of confidence between Indonesia and its Pacific neighbours.
“Such a visit is an act of confidence between friends and an affirmation that there is nothing to hide and there is nothing to fear from the light,” he said.
Wale linked Solomon Islands’ position on West Papua to its broader support for decolonisation and the right of peoples to determine their political future.
“Leaving no one behind demands that we complete the unfinished work of decolonisation,” he said.
He reaffirmed Solomon Islands’ support for the right to self-determination of the Kanak people of New Caledonia and the Māui Nui people of French Polynesia.
“The UN decolonisation process must offer more than hope,” Wale said.
“It must provide practical pathways to the full emancipation of peoples in non-self-governing territories, and to their freedom to determine their own political future and development aspirations.”
Wale also said Solomon Islands was looking to increase its contribution to UN peacekeeping in the coming year.
His comments on West Papua come as Pacific Islands Forum leaders continue to press for implementation of their position on human rights in the territory. The Forum has previously called for Indonesia to facilitate the UN High Commissioner’s visit, including through its communiqués.
Wale said Solomon Islands would continue to support stronger multilateralism and the principles of the UN Charter.
“The challenges of our time demand renewed solidarity, stronger multilateralism, and genuine commitment to the principles of the UN Charter,” he said.
Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine also addressed West Papua during her UN General Assembly speech, reaffirming her country’s position on the issue.
“The Marshall Islands affirms the recent Pacific Islands Forum communique position regarding West Papua, including the 2018 invitation by Indonesia to the UN Human Rights Commissioner,” Heine said.
She also welcomed calls for an ASEAN-Pacific Islands Forum ministerial summit to advance the agreement between the two regions.
“The Marshall Islands strongly welcomes recent calls for a ministerial summit between ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum to take forward our 2023 agreement,” Heine said.
“Our two regions can stand united as neighbours and close friends.”
The two leaders’ statements put West Papua and Pacific-ASEAN engagement among the regional issues raised by Pacific leaders at the UN …..PACNEWS