On March 15, the United Nations General Assembly voted 170–4 to create a new Human Rights Council, effectively dissolving the oft-criticized Commission on Human Rights. Candidates for the Council will need to be elected by an absolute majority of 96 votes in order to secure a position, and once elected members can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms.

A commission sponsored by the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations has called for Indonesia to give Papua more powers of self-government. The commission says the key to peace in the region is the immediate implementation of the “Special Autonomy Law”. It recommends that power sharing be put into practice by Indonesia, in lieu of plans to divide Papua into three provinces. Also, it cautions that a continuance of extreme violence in Papua could destabilize the entire country, and that a military crackdown could lead to calls for humanitarian intervention from the international community.