Griffith Journal of Law and Human Dignity –
West Papua Exposed: An Abandoned Non-Self-Governing or Trust Territory
Abstract
This paper examines the shift in legal status under the United Nations (‘UN’) Charter, with the transfer of West Papua from the Netherlands to the United Nations in 1962 via the ‘Indonesia and Netherlands Agreement concerning West New Guinea (West Irian)’. It advances that this agreement must be a Trusteeship Agreement shifting West Papua’s legal status from a Non-Self-Governing Territory of the Netherlands to a Trust Territory of the United Nations. As such, the United Nations with work of the Trusteeship Council was, and remains, responsible to ensure the West Papuan people attain self-government or independence as required under Article 76(b) of the Charter.
Click to access WestPapuaExposed_A_trust_NonSelfGoverningTerritory.pdf
WestPapuaExposed_A_trust_NonSelfGoverningTerritory
Listen to the UK barrister Charles Foster at the ‘Road to Freedom’ conference in 2011 giving his short explanation of the UN trust relationship with West Papua;
Secret & public Development history of the ‘New York Agreement’
- Original proposal in May 1959 for temporary UN trusteeship that would be used to have West Papua’s sovereignty ‘turned over’ to Indonesia irrespective of the people,
- Modification of proposal in October 1960 to ask the United Nations itself to be the temporary Administrator (UNTEA) as well as the Trustee of West Papua, Oct 1960
- Telling Indonesia by March 1961 about the idea and Indonesia saying it likes the proposal so long as nobody calls the “trusteeship a trusteeship”,
- Newspaper exposes the US plan for this betrayal to trade West Papua to Indonesia, motivation for the New Guinea Council to hold emergency night session to created the Manifesto of Independence, design Morning Star flag, national seal & motto, etc.
- Dutch response during January 1962 in Australia to news of American plan for a special type of trusteeship,
- United Nations legal advice that irrespective of what U Thant wants to call it, the proposed ‘Bunker plan’ or ‘New York Agreement’ will be implementing article 81 International Trusteeship of the territory,
- Australia’s closing remark at 1962 General Assembly about a relationship between the New York Agreement and the Charter of the United Nations,
- Indonesia’s friend India’s attempt to deny that West Papua is now a United Nations Trust territory,
- Current United Nations explanation that Indonesia is an “administrator” not sovereign of West Papua.
Possums and the universe 