West Papua has been occupied by Indonesia since 1963, in which hundreds of thousands of indigenous West Papuans have suffered from torture, beatings, intimidation, death, and other violations of their human rights. New Zealand is a strong trading partner with Indonesia, and exports 'strategic goods' to the Indonesian military including firearms, dual-use goods, personnel, machinery, and hardware.

These exports directly support the Indonesian military’s human rights abuses against West Papuans leading to a slow genocide. Intensified military operations in the highlands region of Papua have caused mass displacement of innocent villagers and indigenous communities who are vulnerable to these military attacks, and New Zealand’s exports are directly supporting this. UN Special Rapporteurs stated estimates put the overall number of displaced at 100,000.

We request that the House of Representatives urges the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon Nanaia Mahuta, to end New Zealand’s export of military weapons, machinery, and hardware to the Indonesian military. Our nation has preached support for our neighbouring pacific nations for years - if we continue exporting military goods to Indonesia, that directly contradicts what our parliament stands for.