Wednesday 13th November 2024

(1 month ago)

Lords Chamber
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington Portrait Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
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This is very much a bipartisan issue, and so it should always be. The Government will be making announcements about trade envoys and others, I hope very soon.

Lord Purvis of Tweed Portrait Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)
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My Lords, has the Minister been briefed on the Human Rights Watch report from September, which recommended that the Indonesian Government unconditionally release West Papua and other detainees in exercise of their fundamental political rights, and specifically for the new Indonesian Government, just formed, to permit UN human rights monitors to visit West Papua? This would honour a commitment that the previous Indonesian Government gave in 2018 but that has yet to be honoured. Have His Majesty’s Government specifically asked for that latter point with the new Administration?

Baroness Chapman of Darlington Portrait Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
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We support the work of the UN Commission on Human Rights in this regard. As the noble Lord suggests, this was raised in recent dialogue with Indonesian political representatives.