Vol. 472 No. 7
56 Mr. O'Malley asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which he has followed up on the request of the all-party Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs resolution, dated 31 January 1996, which calls on the Irish Government to request the United Nations to investigate and act on the allegations of human rights abuses and on the question of the validity of the 1969 Act of Free Choice relating to West Papua. [23921/96]
60 Mr. Sargent asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the plans, if any, he has to request that the UN re-examine the plight of West Papua in view of the brutality of the Indonesian army in that country and the undemocratic nature of the annexation 20 years ago. [23582/96]
72 Mr. M. Kitt asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has received submissions to have the United Nations re-examine the plight of West Papua; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24121/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 56, 60 and 72 together. Irian Jaya — West Irian or West Papua — is the western half of the island of New Guinea which was a part of the Netherlands Indies before the Second World War. Inhabited by Melanesians, who are ethnically different from the Malay peoples predominant in the rest of Indonesia, it maintained a separate identity from the remainder of the Dutch colony. Partly on these grounds and partly to assuage the humilation of defeat in the Indonesian war of independence, the Netherlands decided in 1949 to retain control of the region, envisaging its eventual self-determination. This decision, bitterly resented by Indonesia, led to more than a decade of diplomatic activity, which culminated in the transfer of the colony to Indonesia under UN auspices in 1962-63. Indonesia named the region Irian Barat or West Irian, but in 1972 changed it to Irian Jaya. Under an agreement of 15 August 1962 between Indonesia and the Netherlands, the opinion of the indigenous population was to be heard in an "Act of Free Choice" five years after integration. This took place in 1968.
At the Twenty-Fourth Regular Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1969, Resolution 2504 (XXIV) on the Agreement between the Republic of Indonesia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands concerning West New Guinea — West Irian — was adopted by 84 votes in favour, including Ireland, none against, with 30 abstentions. This resolution recalled specifically the agreement of 15 August 1962 between Indonesia and the Netherlands and acknowledged the role of the UN Secretary General in this Agreement; recalled the report of the UN Secretary General on the completion of the United Nations temporary executive authority in West Irian and further recalled that the arrangements for the Act of Free Choice were the responsibility of Indonesia with the advice, assistance and participation of a special representative of the UN Secretary General as stipulated in the 1962 Agreement. It stated that both parties to the agreement, Indonesia and the Netherlands, had recognised the results of the Act of Free Choice and abided by them. Finally, the resolution took note of the fulfilment by the UN Secretary General and his representative of the tasks entrusted to them under the 1962 agreement. I have received a request to raise with the United Nations the validity of the Act of Free Choice and I have also taken note of the resolution of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs of 31 January 1996. However, in the light of UN General Assembly Resolution 2504 (XXIV) it is difficult to see how this matter can be raised with the United Nations, at this remove, with any expectation of success. Human rights in Irian Jaya continue to be monitored closely.
