West Papua

West Papua (also known as Papua or Irian Jaya) is a remote area of the world, of which little is known. It is also an area with a long history of suffering.

Armed conflict and human rights violations have claimed a large toll in human lives and created a climate of fear.

Indigenous Papuans suffer one of the highest levels of poverty in Asia, and standards of healthcare and education are among the lowest in Indonesia. The rampant exploitation of natural resources has wreaked havoc on West Papua's environment.

Robbed of their right to self-determination, Papuans have been deprived of the opportunity to govern themselves and exert their cultural identity.

Fighting for justice

Progressio has made the struggle for justice and human rights in West Papua a special focus of its work for interfaith peace-building in South East Asia. We hope to support this struggle by raising awareness of the situation in West Papua and encouraging action to help change the conditions that cause conflict, injustice and disadvantage.

Injustice has been able to flourish in West Papua because it has been a little known part of the world. We can work to change this.

We can learn about the situation in West Papua and try to understand the plight of Papuan people.

We can show solidarity for the struggle for peace and justice, and find ways to support this struggle.

If we do this, we can help to ensure that the people of West Papua enjoy their rights to live free of fear, insecurity and injustice.