Yan Christian Warinussy
From Wikileaks
Shedding light on human rights violations in West Papua.
Warinussy has been a dedicated human rights activist for more than fifteen years in West Papua, a territory under Indonesia’s military control since 1963. Lawyer and Director of the Institute for Research, Analysing, and Development of Legal Aid, he has committed himself to shedding light on gross human rights violations in West Papua and defending people whose rights are ignored, despite repeated intimidation and threats to his personal safety. Mr. Warinussy is also a respected community leader, a role he has earned in part through his efforts to provide legal representation to those in West Papua’s remote regions who would otherwise have none. For instance, Mr. Warinussy played a key role in the defence of Papuan’s rights affected by a British Petroleum natural gas facility in Bintuni Bay. His untiring efforts for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in West Papua have made him a role-model for members of the community and future generations. Confronted with summary executions, cases of torture, of sexual violence and massive appropriation of indigenous land by Indonesia’s armed forces and multinational companies, Mr. Warrinussy works tirelessly towards ending impunity.