On 15 August 1962, at UN Headquarters in New York, Indonesia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands sign the New York Agreement — the understanding on the administration of West New Guinea (West Irian).

The document provides for transfer of authority from the Netherlands to a UN transitional administration, then Indonesian administration, and an “Act of Free Choice” for the Papuan people to express their political option before 1969.

Signatories include Subandrio (Indonesia) and J. H. van Roijen with C. Schurmann (Netherlands). US-mediated talks (the Bunker plan) ended the Dutch–Indonesian colonial dispute.

The UN General Assembly confirmed the mandate in Resolution 1752 (XVII). UN administration ended on 1 May 1963; the 1969 Act confirmed Indonesian sovereignty — a result later contested by Papuan movements.

For Pacific decolonisation, 15 August 1962 marks the agreement’s signature.

The text is registered with the UN / Peacemaker.

The New York Agreement of 15 August 1962 remains the West New Guinea transfer milestone.

Image: UN New York; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: New York Agreement. Treaty text: UN Peacemaker — New York Agreement.