To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to reports of up to 45,000 civilians displaced by Indonesian military operations in Nduga, West Papua, if the Government will stop the (a) sale of arms and (b) provision of training programmes to Indonesia.
This answer is the replacement for a previous holding answer.
Answered on
5 November 2020
HM Government takes its export control responsibilities very seriously. All export licence applications are assessed against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria (the ‘Consolidated Criteria’).
The Consolidated Criteria takes into account our obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty and other relevant rules of international law. It provides a thorough risk assessment framework and requires us to think hard about the possible impact of providing equipment and its capabilities. These are not decisions we take lightly.
HM Government will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with the Consolidated Criteria, including where we assess there is a clear risk that it might be used for internal repression.
The United Kingdom supports counter-terrorism training for the Indonesian National Police, through the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC). This includes a broad range of counter terrorism investigation and analytical skills; essential equipment to enhance Indonesia’s forensic, surveillance and IT capabilities; and training on the post-terrorist incident response, including first aid training. All training requires rights and responsibilities to be upheld. We do not provide training to Papua based units but continue to monitor the situation in Papua closely. HM Government respects the territorial integrity of Indonesia, which includes Papua and West Papua provinces.