Parliamentary staff prepare to support next cohort of elected Members of Parliament
More than fifty staff in Papua New Guinea's National Parliament participated in two days of training aimed at strengthening their capacities to provide support services to parliamentary committees that will operate during the 11th National Parliament.
Parliamentary Committees are known around the world as the “workhorses” of a Parliament because it is in Committees that the hard work of assessing Bills, budget oversight and policy review is undertaken. Most Papua New Guinean’s only really see MPs do parliamentary work when they debate and discuss Bills and talk in Question Time, but it is through the work of Committees that MPs strengthen parliamentary oversight. This is a serious mandate – and one which can be very effective in focusing the attention of officials, the public and the media on what the government is doing, but even more, on what they can be doing better.
In the last term of Parliament, the Special Parliamentary Committee on Gender Based Violence (GBV) was very visible in holding the government to account for the limited effective action taken to address GBV. In the next Parliament, staff are committed to supporting other committees to use their powers to similar effect.
Staff from the Parliaments of Solomon Islands and Fiji flew into Port Moresby to participate in the programme by sharing their own good practice and comparative expertise. Staff from the Parliaments of Queensland in Australia and New Zealand also joined online and staff from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville also flew to Port Moresby to participate in the training so that they can take home knowledge to apply in their own Legislative Assembly.
The training held from July 20-21, is part of a professional development programme for key parliamentary staff under the Parliamentary Strengthening Project for the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea and the Bougainville House of Representatives of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. The package of assistance will work to strengthen collaboration between both Parliaments. It will support Members of both legislatures in their efforts to debate matters of public interest as they steward Papua New Guinea’s national development.
Deputy Resident Representative, Mr Edward Vrkic, thanked the participants for their commitment to strengthen parliamentary democracy reminding participants that, “Parliaments are a cornerstone of democracy. They have the power to drive transformative change, through law-making but also the work of parliamentary committees.”
Mr Vrkic added, “We know from our support to the Parliamentary GBV Committee how much impact MPs can have when they use their oversight powers to hold officials to account. We hope that the staff of PNG’s parliamentary committees benefit from this training and can use it to support MPs in the next parliamentary term to use their powers to drive accountable and inclusive development for all.”
UNDP’s new Parliamentary Strengthening Project will support the Parliaments of Papua New Guinea and Bougainville with the induction of new Members of Parliament on a range of policy issues, deliver training to Parliamentary staff and invest in raising the awareness among citizens on the role of strong Parliaments for democracy and good governance.
The first phase of this five-year programme is proudly funded by the Government of Australia.
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Standing firm against Sorcery accusation-related Violence
Lilly Be’Soer is a powerful voice in Papua New Guinea, speaking up for the rights and protection of women and children facing sorcery accusation-related violence.
She leads Voice for Change, a civil society organisation in Jiwaka Province committed to empowering and mobilizing rural women to take leadership in addressing gender-based violence and increasing women’s economic empowerment.
To these women and other human rights defenders, she is a symbol of hope and salvation, advocating for displaced women and children offering her time to prevent and resolve conflicts.
However, her journey has not been easy. She remembers the intimidation she faced as a young woman when she first tried to mediate an extremely difficult case involving five women accused of practising sorcery in her community.
She was held up and her bus keys snatched from her. “They paid a total of PGK 50,000 and 70 pigs and yet the problem was not solved, the issue was not put to rest, when I was approached by women,” she recalled. Guided by her father and uncles, Lilly’s intervention was the community’s fourth attempt of restoring peace and order into the matter.
The experience didn’t make her retreat, it marked the beginning of her journey as a Human Rights Defender. Lilly shared her story at the recently held key consultative meeting on the status of Papua New Guinea's Sorcery Accusation and Related Violence National Action Plan and the Sub-National Sorcery Accusation and Related Violence Response held from June 2nd – 4th 2022 at Loloata Island in Central Province.
“I had been displaced. I lost everything from a tribal conflict, but I was educated. The financial security of women in this country is very important. Because I was educated, I was able to pick up and keep a stable home and environment to my children. These five women had such belief in me that I could help in resolving this conflict.”
She found it wasn’t easy for a young woman to mediate this sort of conflict. An uncle advised her to be a step ahead and to be strategic in her approach. One way was to include key community leaders as mediators. “That’s where I learnt to be able to manage a conflict. I realized that as a human rights defender you face obstacles when you try to do what is right! People will go against you, and that is the journey of my work as a human right defender," said Lilly.
Many human right defenders have put their lives and safety at risk trying to protect victims and survivors of violence – many of them are abused, tortured and carry battle scars.
Soon women like Lilly will be able to have access to better protection through the Human Rights Defenders Bill currently being drafted by the Constitution and Law Reform Commission (CLRC).
This follows a series of consultations held with Government, development partners and civil society that aim to progress legislation to better protect human rights defenders from retaliation or intimidation in the course of their work.
These initiatives are supported through the Spotlight Initiative, a global partnership between the United Nations and the European Union to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in support of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development Goals.
UNDP is working closely with the Department for Community Development and Religion to progress implementation of the National gender-based violence Strategy by supporting budget development and institutional strengthening. Together, both are supporting provinces to develop their own provincial gender-based violence strategies and programmes.
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New Innovation Hubs to accelerate business opportunities and entrepreneurship for Bougainville
Three new Innovation Hubs are set to pave the way for Bougainville women, youth, and innovators to create employment and entrepreneurial opportunities by providing improved access to business development skills and services.
The Bougainville Innovation Hubs will provide a platform where women and youth from Bougainville can begin their entrepreneurial journey, improve their financial literacy, and look to resource themselves with the necessary knowledge and skills towards participating in a digital and technologically focused future. These skills and knowledge are the necessary precursors to developing and sustaining viable micro, small and medium enterprises across Bougainville.
This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Buka on Tuesday, July 19.
In its initial roll out stage, more than 300 women and youth are expected to benefit from education, mentorship, and life skills training through three Innovation Hubs to be built in Buka, Arawa and Buin.
This project is funded by the Government of Japan through a tri-party agreement between the Government of Papua New Guinea, ABG and UNDP and is a core part of the autonomous region’s efforts to sustain peace through economic empowerment.
"The innovation hubs will support early-stage entrepreneurs through education, mentorship, and infrastructure to help accelerate business ideas. They will support service delivery related to entrepreneurship and catalyse economic empowerment for the Bougainville people and communities, women and youth in particular," said Dirk Wagener, UNDP Resident Representative
Mr Wagener joined ABG President Hon. Ishmael Toroama, Chief Secretary Shadrach Himata, several cabinet ABG ministers and members of the Bougainville House of Representatives in the official signing ceremony at the Buka Polytechnic College at Hutjena in front of jubilant crowd to mark the start of the project.
ABG President Ishmael Toroama thanked the UNDP and the Government of Japan for their continued support to peace building on Bougainville and said that a priority focus for the ABG is to develop Bougainville’s economy through a practical approach.
“I am aware that our efforts to promote economic growth cannot be limited to local knowledge and experiences alone. In today’s global community, there is a need for information sharing in all aspects of development,” President Toroama said.
“The concept of having innovation hubs situated in each of our regions will provide our people with the necessary skills and knowledge through the use of technology. This will enable them to keep track of their supply chains as well as improving their financial capacity as entrepreneurs.”
The Bougainville innovation hubs will allow women, youth, students, others to have access to skills related financial literacy, entrepreneurship, digital, taxation, marketing and technological curricula.
While construction of the hubs is on-going, there is an opportunity to deliver and provide education and training activities aligned to the needs of Bougainville communities.
The signing also coincided with an open day providing an opportunity for communities to meet with facilitators and get an initial peek into how the education and training will be delivered over the next six months.
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Hela leaders to resolve and prevent conflicts
Community and tribal leaders will use newly gained leadership and conflict resolution skills to better understand the root causes of conflicts in their communities and identify solutions that prevent escalations toward violence in Hela Province.
Intensive peacebuilding training for enhanced understanding of conflict has targeted 33 men and women leaders from across Hela Province, in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. The participants represent a diversity of roles within their communities that are necessary for conflict mediation and prevention.
Participants, including women, youth and church leaders, schoolteachers, police reservists and village court magistrates, attended this 10-day peacebuilding course to raise capacities in conflict-sensitive leadership, conflict transformation and conflict analysis tools.
Implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), this training is part of the Addressing Conflict & Fragility in the Highlands project supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
“UNDP is investing in empowering local community leaders to promote a culture of peace that can resolve and transform violent conflict in Papua New Guinea,” said UNDP Resident Representative, Mr Dirk Wagener.
“This training for community leaders helps to create and sustain the conditions and changes needed to prevent violent conflict in the first place, and to build resilience in minimizing the impact of violent conflict when it does occur.”
Using a mix of knowledge transfer, reflection, dialogue, analysis and practical exercises, the training workshop enhanced participants’ understanding of peacebuilding concepts and conflict-sensitive community leadership.
“I am feeling motivated and challenged to understand conflicts differently, critically analyse the root causes of conflict, and play a proactive role in promoting peace and non-violence in my community,” said a participant, who recently attended the training during 28 March - 8 April 2022.
Participants also used analysis and reflection tools to identify how they can leverage their leadership roles and positions to promote non-violent conflict resolution mechanisms and mitigate risks of violence in their communities. They developed Social Action Plans that promote locally owned solutions to local conflict issues.
The training was delivered by UNDP in partnership with Conciliation Resources and the Youth Ambassadors for Peace (YAP) Centre. It focused on peace building and conflict resolution for Hela community leaders (7 women and 26 men) from Koroba-Kopiago, Tari-Pori and Komo-Magarima districts.
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Caring for the environment starts at a young age
Getting involved and understanding the importance of the environment at a young age can be an important tool for conservation efforts in the country.
The Jubilee Catholic Secondary School's Environmental Club visited the display stalls at the Protect Area Forum as part of the clubs World Environment Day programme.
The students were happy to visit the stalls and were interested to find out more about conservation work in the country
Jubilee Catholic Secondary School Teacher and an environment enthusiast, Ms Kinibo Duri, said the Environment Club is to get the children involved in, and to understand the importance of, environment conservation.
“Our aim is for children to come here and get educated. There is a lot of Information out there but it needs to get to the household, communities and peers. The awareness to protect flora and fauna is not there and children can be the ones to change this,” said Ms Duri.
The Environmental Club is a mixture of grades 9 to 12. Students join the club because they have a love for the environment and an interest to spread information on the importance of conversation.
Ms Duri said, “There’s only one earth. If you do something negative about it, we all will be affected. No one is isolated. We’re all living in this one earth. There’s no other planet like earth.”
What participants had to say at the recently held Protected Area Forum.
Tracy Bosologo – Marine Conservation Officer, Wildlife Conservation Society(WCS)
Tracy Bosologo is a Marine Conservation Officer for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) marine programme based in Kavieng, New Ireland Province.
“I believe this forum is a good avenue where all stakeholders can gather to share their conservation experiences and challenges. This is the best way forward, to bring everyone who are in the conservation space together to address and share challenges or positive outcomes and provide recommendations for the way forward.”
“In terms of capacity and implementation of conservation and environment protection, there are some barriers or challenges, this forum provides the opportunity to convey these issues and find solutions, more specifically for myself in the marine conservation space.”
“It’s also great exposure for young Papua New Guineans, who can learn from seasoned experts who have been driving conservation and biodiversity protection for many years, so that in the future we the younger generation of conservationists can carry on the same work and meet the goals of the country.”
Murraylyn Kume - Program Director AsPles Foundation
The theme of this Protected Areas forum is very appropriate, ‘Wanpla Graun Blo Yumi Olgeta.’
Basically, it conveys the message that, all the land here in Papua New Guinea essentially belongs to all of us and that it is our collective responsibility to ensure its health and well-being.
“I have travelled from the highlands to attend this forum, due to its significance towards our work, it is a beneficial occasion - to be able to get the insights and opinions of CBOs from all over the country, which can support us to develop the necessary plans and programs that will enhance our efforts to maintain protected Areas.”
“Our first program is with the Nebilyer people (Tambul-Nebilyer District). We work in conflict zones to initiate activities for the communities such as tree planting and various other programs that will bring together tribes."
“In conflict settings, and vulnerable communities, the government system needs strengthening, so through initiatives such as tree planting, we were able to bring people together, and from there develop adaptation plans that are integrated in their district plans. We provide support for the District Development Authority and the provincial government to develop climate adaptation plans for communities.”
John Lamaris – Terrestrial Conservation Coordinator, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
“Where we place our protected areas has to have significance globally and scientifically, as well as culturally – meeting the standards of a protected area whilst upholding our customs and traditions”
John Lamaris is the terrestrial conservation coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Papua New Guinea Programme.
“WCS's programme in Papua New Guinea compliments our global programme. We aim to work towards protecting wildlife and wild habitats here and across the world."
“Our aim is to empower our people with healthy seas and healthy forests, in translation - lukautim gutpla bush gutpla solwara gutpla sidaun.”
“This is a great forum, to share our experiences and take lessons from our conservation colleagues, sharing specific issues that have been encountered throughout their efforts to protect nature – and how best we can move forward to meet the global targets for Protected Areas.”
“Our focus at this forum is to try and introduce the idea that, wherever we put protected areas in Papua New Guinea, it should be guided by core scientific principles, and also include cultural and traditional values.”
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Study on Community Engagement in Humanitarian Contexts in Papua New Guinea Published
The report—Yumi Wok Bung Wantaim (We Work Together) presents findings of nationwide consultations with key humanitarian stakeholders in all four regions of Papua New Guinea. Local communities, government leaders at district, provincial, and national levels, NGOs and international partners operating in Papua New Guinea were among the stakeholders who contributed.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the Communicating with Disaster-Affected Communities (CDAC) Network presented their findings on the status of communication, community engagement, and accountability in humanitarian contexts in Papua New Guinea.
UNDP and CDAC Network undertook this scoping study to understand the current context of community engagement and accountability to disaster-affected populations. The report also provides recommendations for strengthening community engagement and promoting greater inclusion of disaster-affected people in their own preparedness, response and recovery.
With its diverse cultures, social values and distinct tribal boundaries, Papua New Guinea presents unique humanitarian challenges, which are heightened in the absence of systematic approaches for communication, community engagement, and accountability before, during and after disasters, pandemics, or crises. There is a tendency for response efforts to be pushed through with minimal community engagement, and this can lead to ‘tick-the-box’ approaches that can have minimal impact on people’s lives.
“In a country as complex and diverse as Papua New Guinea, cookie-cutter approaches to emergency or crisis preparedness or response are not adequate. There is a need for humanitarian actors—government, national actors, and international partners—to re-think approaches to ensure people are at the centre of all preparedness and response work we engage in,” said Dirk Wagener, the acting United Nations Resident Coordinator.
The report’s findings identify a lack of mechanisms for disaster-affected people to provide feedback on disaster assistance, or pathways for reporting and addressing sexual exploitation, abuse, and other gender-based violence that can escalate following disasters and crises. It notes gaps in policies, legislation, response systems, and policies around communicating and engaging with affected communities. These gaps result in many people, especially those in remote rural communities, being left behind and unable to meaningfully participate in their community’s preparedness, response and recovery.
Marian Casey-Maslen, Executive Director of the CDAC Network, in commending the findings of the national consultation report said, “these point to a need for more sustained dialogue and meaningful interaction with the people affected by crisis, and with women in particular, so that they can take informed decisions and play an active role in disaster preparedness and response.”
The report also presents a series of key recommendations for initial actions that can be taken by the government and international partners to address the gaps. They include investment in repairing and restoring the HF and VHF radio network, creating mechanisms for affected communities to provide feedback and report sensitive issues such as gender-based violence, and advocating for greater inclusion and participation particularly by traditionally vulnerable and marginalized groups.
Colonel Wrakonei, Director National Disaster Centre, in acknowledging the importance of this report, said, “Community engagement is an essential part of the mechanisms we must employ to manage disasters and reduce risks. People affected by disasters and crises know what they need, including what information they want, and expect their leaders and government to be accountable to them in times of disasters or crises.”
To download copy of report clicker here.
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On the verge of creating history for Papua New Guinea
“I hope to make a difference for communities who aspire to conserve their natural wealth,” said Ms Zola Sangga, a member of the environment team at UNDP's Country Office to Papua New Guinea.
Ms Zola Sangga is on a mission to create a piece of history for Papua New Guinea.
She is the Programme Manager for Papua New Guinea's Biodiversity and Climate Fund and has played a key role in the design and establishment of a first-of-its-kind Conservation Trust Fund for the country to support sustainable financing of protected areas and climate change adaptation.
Cool, calm and collected, Ms Sangga says it’s not mission impossible adding that with great teamwork, they can achieve this goal.
“It’s really important that we pay attention to what is impacting our environment, it is mostly our actions and an imbalance in decision making that lead to adverse effects.”
Zola says when it comes to her work, the main driving factor is, likeminded people who share her passion for protecting nature.
“I am motivated by people who take initiative and are committed to taking care of the natural environment in their community and who are not afraid to defend it.”
She says that her greatest role models are her parents, who have been the main support throughout her life.
“My parents have always been my greatest cheerleaders. They have allowed me the space to always be the best version of myself.”
Zola is from a mix parentage of West New Britain and Milne Bay province, however, has lived in the city most of her life.
“I like to say that I am from Port Moresby. I grew up here and have lived here for as long as I can remember.”
Since joining the team, Zola has witnessed and supported UNDP's efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the country.
“UNDP is well placed in the country with various projects and programmes where the government is a major partner that contributes to achieving the SDGs.”
She highlighted the importance of SDG 5 - gender equality, and how UNDP have collaborated with other UN agencies and partners, to drive initiatives that promote and support women in Papua New Guinea.
“UNDP together with its sister agencies, development partners and the government have been instrumental in driving initiatives and programs that support efforts in highlighting the importance of gender equality in Papua New Guinea.”
“Gender equality is a fundamental human right, but here in Papua New Guinea, women are still underrepresented in power and decision-making roles.”
Away from her job, Zola enjoys being around nature, she loves trees, bird watching and bush walking. She also has a great interest in food and nature photography.
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