The UN Human Rights Commissioner reported that the ‘impacts’ of colonialism are “far from over.” This is based on a report compiled by the Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) – a research organization within the Human Rights Council.
The Pacific region is among the few places where foreign powers still have colonies – some are as old as a hundred years. France, Britain, USA, Australia and NZ do have colonies, free-associated independent states, and territories in the Pacific region.
While this report is an encouraging sign that the UNHRC is focusing on the impacts of ‘colonialism’, it must also focus on Indonesia, which one of the colonial powers in Asia and the Pacific. Indonesia is not only illegally occupying West Papua, it also colonizes other places like Aceh and Maluku, both are also struggling to be free from Indonesian colonial grip. For decades, they brutalized the indigenous people of these Islands because they want to keep them as colonies of the Indonesian government.
It is time for the UN Human Rights Council to put pressure on all these colonial powers, particularly Indonesia, and end this inhuman colonial control. They should also ban Indonesia from becoming a member of any committee dealing with human rights. In 2022, no country should colonize another! This is an outdated practice that should not be entertained by any country.