West Papua speaking tour: Paula Makabory
From 10 to 13 August 2009

This page has some information about the West Papuan human rights defender Paula Makabory, and details of the public meetings where she will be speaking - in Auckland on Monday, 10 August; in Wellington on Tuesday, 11 August; and in Christchurch on Thursday, 13 August.

Since 1963 West Papua has been occupied by the Indonesian armed forces. For the past forty-six years, the people of West Papua have been subjected to gross human rights violations including rape, torture, cultural genocide, murder and massacre. The exploitation of West Papua's natural resources by multinational corporations has caused massive social dislocation and environmental devastation and there have been serious human rights violations in the areas where logging and mining companies operate.

Paula Makabory is a resolute defender of women's rights and human rights. After graduating from Cendrawasih University, Jayapura, in 1997, Paula worked with ELSHAM, the Papuan human rights NGO, documenting human right violations in Timika, a town near the massive Freeport McMoran mine. Paula was also involved in mediation and peace building.

Since 2006, Paula has been living in exile in Australia where she is working with the Institute for Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights. She is part of the West Papuan lobby for peaceful dialogue with Indonesia, working to establish West Papua as a land of peace.

  Auckland, Monday 10 August

• West Papua: Land of peace - public meeting at 7.30pm, Supper Room, Trades Hall, 147 Great North Rd, Grey Lynn. Organised by Global Peace and Justice Auckland, Indonesia Human Rights Committee and Pax Christi, contact email.

  Wellington, Tuesday 11 August

• Lunchtime Forum - 1.30pm to 2.30pm, Centre for Global Action meeting room, Level 2, James Smith Building, corner Cuba and Manners Streets. Organised by Council for International Development, if you are planning on attending, please RSVP to email.

• West Papua: human rights, environment, and peace - public meeting from 6pm to 7.30pm, Mezzanine Floor Meeting Room, Wellington Central Library. Organised by Peace Movement Aotearoa, contact email; there is a printable flyer for this event available here.

  Christchurch, Thursday 13 August

• Creating a Land of Peace: Issues in West Papua - lunchtime seminar, 1.10pm, Room 208, Te Ao Marama Building, Arts Road, University Of Canterbury; Organised by the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, contact email.

• Human Rights in West Papua - public meeting at 7.30pm, WEA Room 3, 59 Gloucester Street. Organised by Christian World Service and Arena, contact email; there is a printable flyer for this event available here.