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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1355 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1355

  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
              human rights crisis in Papua and West Papua.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 12, 2010

 Mr. Kennedy submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
              human rights crisis in Papua and West Papua.

Whereas the Department of State's 2008 Human Rights Report on Indonesia 
        documents the detention of at least 30 peaceful Papuan activists, the 
        killing of a Papuan man at a peaceful rally, and additional evidence of 
        suppressed speech, societal abuse, and discrimination against religious 
        groups, violence and sexual abuse against women, child labor, and human 
        trafficking;
Whereas the Government of Indonesia has recently banned the International 
        Committee of The Red Cross (ICRC) from the Provinces of Papua and West 
        Papua which followed ICRC visits to detention facilities;
Whereas a 2007 United Nations report by United Nations Special Rapporteur on 
        Torture, Manfred Nowak, found ``widespread torture in Indonesian 
        prisons'' and ``the use of excessive force by Indonesian security forces 
        in particular in Papua'' and that ``beatings and other forms of torture 
        are entrenched in much of Indonesia's prison system where a culture of 
        impunity reigns'';
Whereas Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid permitted Papuans to fly the 
        ``morning star'' flag as a cultural and historic symbol;
Whereas Amnesty International has identified numerous prisoners of conscience in 
        Indonesian prisons, among them Papuans such as Filep Karma and Yusak 
        Pakage, imprisoned for peaceful political protests including the display 
        of the ``morning star'' flag which has historic, cultural, and political 
        meaning for Papuans;
Whereas 40 Members of Congress in 2008 petitioned Indonesian President Susilo 
        Bambang Yudhoyono on behalf of Papuan political prisoners Filep Karma 
        and Yusak Pakage;
Whereas a Human Rights Watch report on June 5, 2009, noted ``torture and abuse 
        of prisoners in jails in Papua is rampant''; and
Whereas prominent Indonesian leaders have called for a national dialogue and 
        Papuan leaders have called for an internationally mediated dialogue to 
        address long-standing grievances in Papua and West Papua: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the Government of Indonesia should report to the 
        international community specific progress made regarding--
                    (A) the end of abuse of those detained by 
                authorities in Papua and West Papua and prosecution of 
                those guilty of that abuse;
                    (B) actions taken by the Government of Indonesia to 
                improve conditions of incarceration, especially in 
                Papua and West Papua;
                    (C) measures taken to protect the right of its 
                citizens to peaceful assembly and association as well 
                as the freedom of speech and specifically symbolic 
                speech, such as raising banners or flags;
                    (D) compatibility of Indonesian law that 
                criminalizes peaceful political dissent and conflicting 
                Indonesian commitments concerning the rights to freedom 
                of speech and assembly guaranteed by international 
                covenants to which Indonesia is a party, to include the 
                Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and
                    (E) provision to or access to detention facilities 
                in West Papua by recognized human rights monitoring 
                institutions, including the International Committee of 
                The Red Cross; and
            (2) the Government of Indonesia should allow an 
        independent, third party human rights organization to review 
        prison conditions with special attention to Papuan inmates and 
        on the basis of that review, formulate a series of 
        recommendations to the Government of Indonesia that would 
        facilitate prison and legal reforms especially to--
                    (A) address deficits in facilities, personnel 
                training, and procedures for the purpose of improving 
                the humanitarian treatment of those detained;
                    (B) formulating procedures, including judicial 
                reform and legal remedies to ensure that prison 
                authorities face appropriate punishment for 
                mistreatment of those detained; and
                    (C) encourage reform of the Indonesian criminal 
                code and sentencing procedures to ensure that they 
                reflect Indonesia's commitments under international 
                undertakings and Indonesia's own legal obligations to 
                protect fundamental human rights, including the rights 
                to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly and 
                association.
                                 <all>
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