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Indonesia faces the music at UN human rights review
Jakarta had its human rights records examined at the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UN HRC) 41st Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session at the UN headquarters in Geneva on Wednesday.
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Speaking out: 'Silenced' by Yanto Gombo depicts the difficulty Papuans face in speaking out against oppression. (Courtesy of the Organizing Committee Biennale Jogja XVI Equator #6 2021) (Personal collection/Courtesy of the Organizing Commitee Biennale Jogja XVI Equator #6 2021)
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ndonesia was put on the defensive at a United Nations human rights review on Wednesday as countries spotlighted persistent political violence in Papua and anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) policies, among other issues.
In its national report for the UN Human Rights Council’s (HRC) 41st Universal Periodic Review, Indonesia highlighted its achievements in protecting human rights amid the COVID-19 pandemic, enacting pro-human rights legislation and supporting minority groups.
The countries conducting the review at the UN headquarters in Geneva raised concerns about rights violations in Papua, citing reports of escalating violence, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and restrictions on independent observers and the press.
They recommended that Jakarta accept a visit of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to Papua and conduct investigations into extrajudicial killings and human rights violations in the restive region.
In response, the Foreign Ministry’s director for human rights, Achsanul Habib, asserted that Papua was an integral part of Indonesia according to international law and that the region faced security challenges from “armed separatist groups”.
“Critical infrastructure, human development, peace and security continue to be undermined by terrorist acts committed by these groups, who have intensified attacks against civilians and critical infrastructure since 2018,” Habib said on Wednesday, as broadcast by UN Web TV.
Meanwhile, Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly said President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration had prioritized accelerating development and welfare in Papua.
