Melanesian leaders are stepping up pressure on Jakarta to facilitate a United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights visit to West Papua.

There has also been a call to consider scrapping Indonesia's associate membership in the regional bloc of the Melanesian Spearhead Group entirely.

Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the Indigenous Kanak movement of New Caledonia are behind the push.

The Pacific Islands Forum first appealed to the UN in 2019. Indonesian authorities have long denied the UN access to the occupied Papuan territory.

Frustration has built up among Melanesian countries in the years since amid growing concerns over human rights violations in West Papua.

The Melanesian Spearhead Group issued a statement from the recent Pacific Islands Forum summit, saying Melanesian leaders have "urged continued engagement with Indonesia to facilitate access by the end of Indonesia's term as President of the Human Rights Council".

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua as a non-sovereign organisation, which holds observer status, have endorsed the order.

The statement demands that the UN be allowed to inspect West Papua and produce a report on human rights issues ahead of the next Melanesian Spearhead Group summit.

Melanesian leaders "affirmed that if these actions are not undertaken the associate membership status shall be reviewed accordingly at the next MSG summit in 2027".

They also call for the embassies of Melanesian countries in Jakarta to "support appropriate follow-up and engagement on this matter".

The member states are looking to meet Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the UN General Assembly gathering in New York at the end of September.

Since taking office in October last year, Mr Prabowo has overseen increased Indonesian military deployments in the territory where a long-running battle with the West Papua National Liberation Army has escalated.

The conflict has caused mass displacement of many Papuan village communities around the Highland Papua province.

An Indonesian spokesperson said after the recent 62nd session of the UN's Human Rights Council that the High Commissioner assessed "that force must not be used to pursue territorial claims or political demands" from a visit.

The spokesperson insisted Indonesia supports "a cooperative and non-confrontational approach to human rights issues, based on mutual respect and national ownership".