Australian West Papua Education Kit ---Return to AWPABhome

"an objective of the decade is the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous people and their empowerment to make choices which enable them to retain their cultural identity while participating in political, economic and social life, with full respect for their cultural values, languages and forms of social organisation” (UN Fact sheet No.9 (Rev.1) The Right of Indigenous Peoples)

Exploration and colonisation beginning in the fifteenth century not only led to rapid appropriation of indigenous peoples' lands and natural resources, but also despoiled their sciences, ideas, arts and culture. Today, the twenty-first century, this continues in West Papua under the sovereignty rule of Indonesia. In recent years, there have been significant advances in international thinking and action on indigenous issues and rights. The United Nations, its partners and indigenous peoples have developed a programme of work that sets standards in regards to indigenous peoples and their rights. One of the principle outcomes in terms of standard setting has been done by the open-ended inter-sessional Working Group of the Commission on Hu man Rights on the draft declaration on the rights of indigenous people. This draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples is currently working its way up through the UN system to the General Assembly and is due to be ratified in 2004. Although not legally binding on signatory governments, the Declaration will be a powerful moral force in articulating the special rights of Indigenous peoples. In recognition of indigenous peoples rights, this Information Kit on the indigenous people of West Papua, has taken the liberty of using quotations at the beginning of each section from the Draft Declaration on the rights of Indigenous People (General Assembly resolution 50/157 of 21st December 1995)

The land and the People

"The Charter of the United Nation, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and political Rights affirm the fundamental importance of the right of self-determinationof all peoples, by virtue of which they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

The Papuan people live on the world's largest tropical island, New Guinea which was divided in two during the colonial era.

The eastern half, Papua New Guinea (PNG), is Australia's nearest neighbour. In the 19th century it was administered by Germany and Britain and later by Australia until it became independent in 1975. The western half was formerly a Dutch colony but was annexed by Indonesia in 1963 and was renamed Irian Jaya. Since 2000 this province was officially renamed Papua but is often referred to as West Papua to distinguish it from PNG.

The indigenous population of West Papua is about 1.5 million and there are about 1 million additional Indonesian settlers, most of whom came as transmigrants. By contrast PNG has about 4.8 million people. (checked from SBS World Guide). After 40 years of Indonesian occupation, this disparity in population raises serious questions of genocide as defined by the United Nations.

The indigenous people of New Guinea, according to anthropologists, once shared trading paths that traversed the entire island and 50,000 year old culture. Papuan agricultural practices placed them among the world's most advanced irrigators. In the west Papuan seafarers reigned supreme until Portugal and Spain attempted to colonize New Guinea in the 1500s. They were followed by Holland, Britain and now Indonesia.

West Papua is a land of immense geographical diversity ranging from coral reefs and lowland swamps to towering mountain ranges reaching 5000 m with permanent ice. It makes up 22% of the area of Indonesia. Unlike the Indonesian islands and Asian landmass to the west, New Guinea's flora and fauna are related to the island continent of Australia. Papua has no native monkeys or felines but rather has an abundance of marsupials, cassowaries and eucalypts. It is also the home to the bird of paradise and many striking butterflies.

The indigenous people of West Papua and PNG are dark skinned Melanesians having cultural similarities to the people of Vanuatu, Fiji, the Solomons, New Caledonia and Torres Strait Islands. Because of early settlement and topographical extremes, there are about 250 different languages spoken in West Papua.

Once living in relative isolation from the world, the Papuan people in the last 50 years have been relentlessly confronted by modernity in the form of foreign mining companies and the Indonesian army. Since the late 1960's the West Papuan economy has been based on the extraction of gold, copper, timber, oil and gas. The Papuan population is largely excluded from this economy.