Statement by His Excellency Manasseh Sogavare, Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, at the general debate of the 70th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (New York, 28 September -3 October 2015).
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has called on the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council to do more in investigating and monitoring allegations of human rights abuse and violations in the Papua and West Papua regions of Indonesia.
Sogavare made the call in New York Thursday in his address at the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
“All states have a legal duty and moral responsibility to uphold, respect and promote human rights and where necessary take preventive, protective and punitive measures against human rights abuses or violations in accordance with the UN Charter and applicable international laws,” Sogavare said.
“Against the foregoing backdrop, the General Assembly is well aware of the continuing concerns of human rights violations in the Papua and West Papua regions of Indonesia and Solomon Islands further calls on the Geneva based Human Rights Council to do more in investigating and monitoring of allegations of human rights abuse and violence on the ethnic Melanesians there.
“We (Solomon Islands) would like this issue attended to in a timely manner,” he added.
Prime Minister Sogavare said Solomon Islands together with the Pacific Islands Forum are seeking genuine dialogue and cooperation with Indonesia to resolve and dissolve the reported allegations of human rights violations.
He said the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders in their recent ‘Leaders Summit’ in Port Moresby approved the deployment of a fact finding Mission to West Papua to establish the alleged abuse of human rights there.
He said the summit resolved to appeal to the Government of Indonesia to allow free and unrestricted access to this mission ‘in the true spirit of regional cooperation.’
Prime Minister Sogavare added that, “In the long term however, the United Nations cannot shy away from the root causes of these violations.”
http://www.solomonstarnews.com/news/national/8589-sogavare-urges-un-to-address-west-papua
Watch the full statement here.
http://webtv.un.org/watch/solomon-islands-general-debate-70th-session/4524779327001
