Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002569/2025
to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Rule 144
Catarina Vieira (Verts/ALE)
Although negotiations on an EU-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) are ongoing, civil society groups have regularly pointed out significant democratic backsliding in the country during this period. The situation in West Papua has consistently been the most problematic.
The 2019 Sustainability Impact Assessment highlighted the increased risk of human rights violations resulting from increased trade without an improvement in enforcement mechanisms protecting indigenous peoples.
Since 2019, the Human Rights Dialogue has been infrequent, with a gap between 2021 and 2024, while civilian casualties have increased considerably and there are up to 100 000 internally displaced persons in West Papua. Furthermore, the statement of the European External Action Service (EEAS) on the Human Rights Dialogue in 2024 failed to address the situation in West Papua.
Given the EU’s commitment to promoting and protecting human rights in EU trade policy, can the Commission:
- 1.clarify how it and the EEAS are addressing the serious human rights violations in West Papua, including through the Human Rights Dialogue or other instruments?
- 2.clarify what protections for indigenous people will be incorporated in the CEPA negotiations?
- 3.confirm whether the human rights of West Papuans, including the humanitarian crisis arising from the displacement of civilians as a result of the armed conflict, are being addressed during the trade negotiations?
Submitted: 25.6.2025