January 27th 2020
Prime Minister Hon. James Marape has thanked United Nations Secretary-General, H.E. Antonio Guterres for his endorsement last July of Papua New Guinea’s request to be eligible for assistance from the Peace Building Fund (PBF) for another five years.
He said this during United Nations Secretary-General’s PBF Replenishment Conference which was held online in the early hours of this morning (Wednesday, January 27th, 2021).
“This will support my Government’s key priorities to build and sustain peace, particularly the post-referendum process in Bougainville as well as local peacebuilding initiatives in the Highlands region,” PM Marape told the virtual conference.
“Co-Chairs, as a beneficiary since 2016, Papua New Guinea appreciates the consistent and sustained level of support from PBF, and the crucial role of the UN Peacebuilding Commission in helping my Government take positive and constructive steps towards sustained peace efforts under the theme of ‘Peace through peaceful means’.
“This is particularly so, under our 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement process, and also most recently a new initiative in my country’s Southern Highlands and Hela provinces.”
PM Marape said PNG was well pleased with the landmark visit of the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Her Excellency, Ms. Amina Mohammed in March last year to PNG, and particularly to Hela – his home province – to witness firsthand this peace initiative.
“The seeds sown by PBF support are already yielding positive results,” he said.
“Peaceful dialogue between different tribes, who previously were in perennial conflicts, are now enabling community development, including local entrepreneurship and women and girl’s equality, empowerment and leadership in conflict resolution.
“Co-Chairs, in our Autonomous Region of Bougainville, we have achieved and continue to sustain unbroken peace for nearly 20 years now since the Bougainville Peace Agreement was signed in 2001.
“This is underpinned by successfully meeting the three main pillars of the Peace Agreement: (i) the Special Autonomy for Bougainville, (ii) Disarmament (Weapons Disposal), and (iii) Referendum on the future status of Bougainville, that was concluded in December 2019 under the sterling leadership of former Prime Minister of Ireland, Hon. Bertie Ahern, who served as the Chairperson of the Bougainville Referendum Commission and whose final report has been received by my Government last year.
“We are now embarking on the most critical post-referendum phase of our work following last year’s successful election of the Autonomous Bougainville Government.
“My Government is strongly committed to ensure that the spirit and letter of the Bougainville Peace Agreement continues to be respected and upheld.”
PM Marape told the conference that approximately 15 per cent, or nearly two million people out of PNG’s total population of over eight million people, currently benefited from the PBF support.
“However, PBF’s cascading impact on the peacebuilding and sustaining peace efforts on the country, as a whole, cannot be overstated,” he added.
“Co-Chairs, without the PBF, Peace Building Commission (PBC) and other bilateral and multilateral development partners’ support, the peace process in Papua New Guinea’s Autonomous Bougainville Region and the new initiative in the Highlands region would have been far more challenging given the financial and other resources constraints faced by my country.
“The continued support of the Secretary-General’s PBF and the wider United Nations will be vital to that effort as we go forward.
“We would also like to sincerely thank the donors who continue to contribute to the PBF for their generosity and commitment to global peace and security.
“I would like to reassure this meeting of Papua New Guinea’s firm commitment to continue this important partnership with the Secretary-General’s PBF and for that matter, the UN, in strengthening the hand of peace through peace by peaceful means.
“Going forward, I would like to underscore that as our financial resources envelope expands, over time, we will make commensurate contributions to the PBF. “
PM Marape commended the UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. Gianluca Rampolla and his team, and the UN system, “for the pivotal role that they are playing to support Papua New Guinea, not only on the peace and security agenda but in all areas of development”.