A petition has been tabled in New Zealand's parliament calling on the government to make a number of representations on the plight of West Papuans.
The public petition, which garnered 1367 signatures, was handed over to a group of Labour and Greens MPs today before being tabled in the chamber.
Pala Molisa and Tere Harrison present a petition on West Papua to New Zealand MPs Marama Davidson, Lousia Wall, Catherine Delahunty and Su'a William Sio, outside the country's parliament. 6 September 2016. Photo: Supplied
It calls on the parliament to urge the New Zealand Government to address the ongoing human rights situation in West Papua by taking a series of actions.
These include publicly advocating for the Indonesian government to uphold the rights of the indigenous people of Papua region, or West Papua, to freedom of assembly and freedom of speech.
It also calls for Indonesia to be condemned for the arrest and intimidation of thousands of peaceful protestors in West Papua in the last two years, as well as the for "state sanctioned torture and killing of West Papuans".
Furthermore, the petition urges New Zealand to support the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression for a visit to West Papua; and to implore the the Pacific Island Forum to also support this stand and advocate for Papua at the UN.
The petition is expected to be sent to Foreign Affairs Select Committee for consideration.