Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential to hold the perpetrators of recent human rights violations in West Papua to account in international law; and if his Department will develop plans to increase support for the protection of Papuan civilians.

We are concerned by reports of a number of deaths in Paniai, Papua province, on 8 December, apparently following attempts to disperse a group of protesters. We support calls by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for the authorities to conduct an independent and thorough investigation into the incident. Such an investigation should be in line with international legal standards.

We regularly discuss the situation in Papua with the Indonesian authorities, including during visits by our Embassy to the province. It is for the Indonesian authorities to provide adequate protection to all its citizens and we continue to press them to do so.