IV 
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 Re-
port 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 reli-
gious 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 fol-
lowed ICRC visits to detention facilities; 
Whereas a 2007 United Nations report by United Nations 
Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, found 
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•HRES 1355 IH 
‘‘widespread torture in Indonesian prisons’’ and ‘‘the use 
of excessive force by Indonesian security forces in par-
ticular in Papua’’ and that ‘‘beatings and other forms of 
torture are entrenched in much of Indonesia’s prison sys-
tem where a culture of impunity reigns’’; 
Whereas Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid per-
mitted Papuans to fly the ‘‘morning star’’ flag as a cul-
tural and historic symbol; 
Whereas Amnesty International has identified numerous pris-
oners of conscience in Indonesian prisons, among them 
Papuans such as Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage, im-
prisoned for peaceful political protests including the dis-
play of the ‘‘morning star’’ flag which has historic, cul-
tural, and political meaning for Papuans; 
Whereas 40 Members of Congress in 2008 petitioned Indo-
nesian 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 na-
tional dialogue and Papuan leaders have called for an 
internationally mediated dialogue to address long-stand-
ing grievances in Papua and West Papua: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
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•HRES 1355 IH 
(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 pros-
ecution of those guilty of that abuse; 
(B) actions taken by the Government of 
Indonesia to improve conditions of incarcer-
ation, 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 con-
flicting Indonesian commitments concerning the 
rights to freedom of speech and assembly guar-
anteed by international covenants to which In-
donesia is a party, to include the Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights; and 
(E) provision to or access to detention fa-
cilities in West Papua by recognized human 
rights monitoring institutions, including the 
International Committee of The Red Cross; and 
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•HRES 1355 IH 
(2) the Government of Indonesia should allow 
an independent, third party human rights organiza-
tion to review prison conditions with special atten-
tion to Papuan inmates and on the basis of that re-
view, 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 im-
proving the humanitarian treatment of those 
detained; 
(B) formulating procedures, including judi-
cial 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 en-
sure that they reflect Indonesia’s commitments 
under international undertakings and Indo-
nesia’s own legal obligations to protect funda-
mental human rights, including the rights to 
freedom of speech and peaceful assembly and 
association. 
Æ 
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