A new report about British involvement in occupied West Papua was launched yesterday (9th September 2025) in the UK Parliament.
Professor David Whyte
Barrister Jen Robinson, ILWP
FWP Spokesperson Koteka Wenda
The report, titled “Bringing it All Back Home: the role of British companies in the destruction of West Papua“, exposes the role of British corporations and investors in fuelling environmental destruction and human rights abuses in West Papua. The meeting was addressed by report author David Whyte (Queen Mary University of London), Alex Sobel MP (West Papua APPG Chair), Koteka Wenda (Free West Papua Campaign spokesperson), and Barrister Jen Robinson (Doughty Street Chambers and International Lawyers for West Papua), and attended by MPs including Jeremy Corbyn and Anneliese Dodds.
Key findings from the report include:
- Deforestation – British shareholders including HSBC, Prudential, Legal & General and Abrdn are linked to palm oil companies driving the world’s largest ongoing deforestation project in Meruake. Unilever is also identified as sourcing palm oil from West Papua.
- Mining – British institutions including Barclays, Rathbones and HSBC hold shares in Freeport-McMoRan, the US company that operates Grasberg, the world’s largest gold mine, which dumps 300,000 tons of untreated waste into local rivers every day.
- Oil and Gas – BP’s Tangguh LNG facility has displaced local villages, damaged mangrove forests and will generate an estimated 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon emissions.
- Arms exports – Britain has continued to supply arms and training to Indonesia, supporting military operations that suppress dissent in West Papua.
