Independence movements

West Papua: current status

Where the question stood on 22 September 2026: West Papua remains part of Indonesia, with both diplomatic and armed independence activity ongoing.

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Status verified as of 22 September 2026. Political positions change; this explainer describes the documented position on that date.

Current position

West Papua remains administered as provinces of Indonesia. The ULMWP continues diplomatic organising, including observer status in the Melanesian Spearhead Group, while elements of the OPM continue armed activity; the underlying independence question remained unresolved as of the most recent sources reviewed.[1]

Sources for this page

Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.

  1. 1.

    Claim: The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) was founded in December 2014, uniting different factions of the West Papuan independence movement; following a 2017 summit, Benny Wenda was elected ULMWP chairman, and on 17 August 2022 he was elected President of a West Papua Provisional Government. The ULMWP holds observer status in the Melanesian Spearhead Group, a regional intergovernmental organisation.

    • United Liberation Movement for West Papua (Wikipedia) link, Organizational Structure, Leadership and International Recognition sections. Source record

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Printed from https://independenceatlas.com/movements/west-papua/status · last substantive update 24 September 2026.