ANNEX VII

 

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

AND THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

CONCERNING WEST NEW GUINEA (WEST IRIAN)

 

 

Report of the Secretary-General regarding the act of self-determination in West Irian 

  1. After having ascertained thatthe Government of Indonesiawas preparedto  comply with the remainingresponsibilities deriving from the Agreement of 15 August 1962 between the Republic of Indonesia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands concerning WestNew Guinea (West Irian), I appointed Mr. Fernando Ortiz-Sanz as my representative to participate in the arrangements for the act of self-determination prescribed by articles XVII to XXI of the Agreement. As Mr. Ortiz-Sanz recounts fully in his report to me (annex 1) he arrived in Indonesia on 12 August 1968 with part of his staff and, after discussions with the highest ranking members of the Indonesian Government, left Djakarta on 22 August 1968 and arrived at Djajapura, the principal administrative centre of West New Guinea (West Irian) on 23 August. Between October 1968 and April 1969 additional staff members joined Mr. Ortiz-Sanz’s mission. The deployment and activities of the staff assigned to the mission are described in detail by Mr. Ortiz-Sanz in his report. 

  2. Pursuant to article XXI of the Agreement of 15 August 1962, both the Government of Indonesia and my representative submitted final reports to me, which I decided to annex to my own report to the General Assembly. This makes it unnecessary for me to describe the arrangements for the conduct of the act of self-determination, since they are comprehensively described in the reports of the Government of Indonesia and of my representative. The Government of Indonesia also submitted to me records concerning the act of free choice which, owing to their volume, I felt there was no need to incorporate in this report. However, they are on file with the Secretariat, where they may be consulted by any delegation which wishes to do so.

  3. My representative describes the manner in whichhedischarged his responsibilities “to advise, assist and participate in arrangements which are the responsibility of Indonesia for the act of free choice”. He rendered advice to the Government of Indonesia at all stages of the operation. His advice was sometimes accepted, but on other occasions the Government of Indonesia did not find it possible to follow his counsel. He has expressed, in the closing remarks of his report, his reservation regarding the implementation of article XXII of the Agreement, relating to “the rights, including the rights of free speech, freedom of movement and of assembly, of the inhabitants of the area”. Nevertheless, he concludes with the observation that, on the basis of the facts presented in his report and the documents referred to, “it can be stated that, with the limitations imposed by the geographical characteristics of the territory and the general political situation in the area, an act of free choice has taken place in West Irian, in accordance with Indonesian practice, in which the representatives of the population have expressed their wish to remain with Indonesia”.

  4. For its part,the Indonesian Government, inthe reportwhichit submittedto  me, recalls the special circumstances prevailing in West New Guinea (West Irian), deriving mainly from the ruggedness of the territory, the prevailing difficulties in communication and the low level of development of the population, with the exception of a relatively small group of West Irianese living in some of the coastal towns. The Indonesian Government recorded the act of free choice as a success which would strengthen the unity of Indonesia and its people, for it considered the result of that act as the culmination of the independence of Indonesia. I am encouraged to note from the report of the Government of Indonesia its determination to concentrate the efforts of the Government and the people of Indonesia on the development and progress of West New Guinea (West Irian).

  5. In accordance with article XVIII of the Agreement, the representative councils of West New Guinea (West Irian) were consulted on the procedures and appropriate methods to be followed for ascertaining the freely expressed will of the population. The representative councils accepted the procedures and methods suggested by the Indonesian Government, namely that such councils would be enlarged by an appropriate number of representatives elected by the people of West New Guinea (West Irian). These enlarged councils would decide whether the territory wished to remain with Indonesia or sever its ties with that country.

  6. Between 14 July and 2 August1969,the enlarged councils, which included a  total of 1,026 members, were asked to pronounce themselves on behalf of the people of West New Guinea (West Irian), as to whether they wished to remain with Indonesia or sever their ties with it. Without dissent, all the enlarged councils pronounced themselves in favour of the territory remaining with Indonesia. This was the result of the act of free choice.

  7. Incidentally, in connexionwith the observationmade by my representative in paragraph 11 of his report, I deem it necessary to recall certain facts. On 14 May and 2 July 1963 communications were addressed on my behalf to the Government of Indonesia informing it of the names of the persons whom I had designated as the “United Nations experts” called for by article XVI of the Agreement. On several occasions, I approached the Government which was in power in Indonesia at that time for the purpose of implementing the provisions of article XVII but failed to obtain a favourable reply. On 7 January 1965, as is well known, Indonesia withdrew its co-operation with the United Nations and it therefore became impossible to send the United Nations experts to West New Guinea (West Irian).

  8. I should like to state my appreciation to the Governments of Indonesia and the  Netherlands for their assistance in the implementation of the remaining responsibilities deriving from the Agreement and, in particular, for sharing, on an equal basis, the costs incurred by the United Nations under that Agreement. I wish also to commend Mr. Ortiz-Sanz and the staff assigned to his mission for the able manner in which they discharged the responsibilities which I entrusted to them.

 

Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Canberra