2005 John Humphrey Freedom Award Yan Christian Warinussy Rights & Democracy is honored to present Papuan human rights activist Yan Christian Warinussy with the 2005 John Humphrey Freedom Award. Mr Warinussy is a lawyer and Director of the of the Institute for Research, Analysing and Development of Legal Aid, known as LP3BH, who has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the struggle for human rights in West Papua despite continuing intimidation and threats to his personal safety. Confronted with summary executions, cases of torture, sexual violence and massive appropriation of indigenous territories by the Indonesian armed forces, Mr Warinussy’s efforts are key in the fight against impunity in West Papua.

Press Release Itinerary of Yan Christian Warinussy's Visit to Canada West Papua: an Overview Join the postcard campaign John Humphrey Award: Selection Criteria Past Winners		Libertas Newsletter: HTML -- PDF (162 KB)
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Itinerary

Itinerary of Yan Christian Warinussy's visit to Canada
1. Vancouver: Date: Monday, November 28, 12 pm to 1:30 pm Location: UBC, C.K. Choi Building , Room 120, details (PDF)	2. Victoria: Date: Monday, November 28, 7:00 to 8:30 pm Location: Wawadit'la (Mungo Martin House) , details (PDF)	3. Winnipeg: Date: Wednesday, November 30, 7 pm to 8:30 pm Location: University of Winnipeg, 1L08,1st Floor, Lockhart Hall, details (PDF)
4. Toronto: Date: Thursday, December 1, 7 pm to 8:30 pm Location: University of Toronto, Vivian and David Campbell Conference Facility, Munk Centre for International Studies - details (PDF)		6. Ottawa: Date: Thursday, December 8 6 pm to 7:30 pm Location: Museum of Civilization By Invitation only. To receive an invitation, please contact: dd-rd@dd-rd.ca
5. Montreal: Date: Monday, December 5, 7:00 to 8:30 pm Location: National Monument Café, 1182, boul. Saint-Laurent - details (PDF), parking/map (PDF)

West Papua : An Overview Colonized in 1714 by the Dutch, West Papua followed a path distinct from the other colonies ceded to Indonesia in the 1950s. Since West Papuans have no ethnic or cultural ties to Indonesia , the Dutch put in place conditions for their independence, enabling them to choose a flag, a name (West Papua) and a model of government. For example, culturally, over 200 languages are spoken in West Papua , while the Papuans are of Melanesian ethnicity, along with the populations of Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
In 1962, at the insistence of the Indonesian government and under pressure from the United States, the Dutch agreed to an accord under which the United Nations would administer West Papua until an “Act of Free Choice” referendum could be held allowing Papuans to choose between independence or integration with Indonesia. In 1963, the United Nations handed Papua over to Indonesia.

In 1969, a referendum—commonly referred to now as the “Act of No Choice”—was held. Only 1025 Papuans, some with a gun held to their heads, were able to vote. The result was a unanimous vote in favour of integration with Indonesia . Popular discontent with this forced integration led to the birth of an armed independence movement—the Free West Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka)—that is still active today. In 2001, an agreement was signed giving West Papua more autonomy, with Papuans gaining more control over their resources and freedom of expression of their cultural identity. In 2003-2004, the Indonesian government nullified the arrangements provided for under the autonomy agreement, further isolating West Papua and leading to new military operations to quash dissent. The greatest threat facing Papuans today continues to be the massive human rights violations that the Indonesian army has been perpetrating for the last 40 years.