United Nations Administered West New Guinea
West New Guinea | |||||||||
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| 1962–1963 | |||||||||
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Location of West New Guinea in Oceania | |||||||||
| Status | United Nations administered territory | ||||||||
| Capital | Hollandia | ||||||||
| Common languages | Dutch English Papuan languages Austronesian languages | ||||||||
| Administrator | |||||||||
• 1962 | José Rolz-Bennett (acting) | ||||||||
• 1962–1963 | Jalal Abdoh | ||||||||
| Legislature | New Guinea Council | ||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||
• Established | 1 October 1962 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 30 April 1963 | ||||||||
| Currency | Dutch New Guinean gulden | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Indonesia | ||||||||
Between 1 October 1962 and 30 April 1963 Western New Guinea was administered by the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) in accordance with article two of the New York Agreement reached between the governments of the Netherlands and Indonesia in August 1962.
This was the first time in its history that the United Nations assumed direct administrative responsibility for a territory (as opposed to monitoring or supervising). The UN was responsible for promoting and safeguarding human rights at the national level. The United Nations would go on to undertake similar missions in Cambodia (UNTAC), the Eastern Slavonia region of Croatia (UNTAES), Kosovo (UNMIK) and East Timor (UNTAET).