The Melanesian Spearhead Group Caucus appointed Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka as a Special Envoy to address the West Papua issue.

This MSG leaders meeting was a side event that Rabuka attended with the delegation from PNG, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands, who is also at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting in Rarotonga today.

After being appointed, Rabuka stated that alongside Prime Minister James Marape of Papua New Guinea, they had been tasked with meeting the President of Indonesia to discuss this pressing matter.

Rabuka says this significant decision emerged during today’s MSG Caucus meeting when he proposed sending a representative to Indonesia to foster dialogue on the West Papua situation.

He says this initiative is an extension of his ongoing efforts to promote the Pacific as a zone of peace.

The MSG Caucus collectively agreed that sending a ministerial envoy, rather than a bureaucratic-level envoy, would be the most effective approach to address the West Papua issue.

Rabuka says this stance corresponds with the position of PIF Member States, which reaffirms Indonesia’s sovereignty over West Papua.

He says that he is committed to working towards a peaceful resolution to this issue and looks forward to engaging in constructive discussions with Indonesia to address the matter at hand.

Rabuka has also stated that previous discussions at the MSG Leaders Meeting concurred that the most appropriate platform to address human rights concerns is the United Nations, specifically through the UN Human Rights Council.