Seven Pacific Island nations are asking the United Nations to investigate alleged human rights abuses in Indonesia's Papua and West Papua provinces.

Vanuatu's Justice Minister Ronald Warsal went before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to read the request from his nations, as well as Tonga, Palau, Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, and the Solomon Islands.  They are formally accusing Indonesia of serious human rights violations against indigenous Papuans, including beatings and killings of peaceful protesters as well as extrajudicial executions of activists.

They also want Indonesia to explain the migration of Javanese and other ethnic groups to Papua, outnumbering the indigenous people in their own land.  The people of West Papua are ethnically Melanesian, and culturally distinct from the rest of Indonesia. 

Indonesia is accusing Vanuatu of "blatantly using human rights issues to justify its dubious support for the separatist movement in Papua".  Jakarta severely restricts journalists from reporting on West Papua, which has the world's largest gold mine by reserves, one of the world's biggest copper mines, and vast areas of virgin forest.