Indonesia Protests at UN as Melanesian Leaders Pledge Joint West Papua Advocacy

On October 6, 2026 a petitioner raised West Papua during a UN General Assembly Fourth Committee hearing on New Caledonia, citing a UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues study and arguing the territory should return to the UN decolonisation list. Indonesia objected and sought to have the reference struck from the record. After an informal Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders' meeting in Fiji on October 7, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said Melanesian governments would jointly step up advocacy on reported human rights abuses in West Papua, while stating PNG respects Indonesia's territorial sovereignty. Pacific Islands Forum leaders earlier named Marape and Fiji's Sitiveni Rabuka as special envoys on West Papua. Indonesia disputes the characterisation of Papua's status.