Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea faces high rates of domestic and gender-based violence, as well as intercommunal violence in its mountainous highlands region, while climate change further exacerbates drivers of conflict. Papua New Guinea is in the process of negotiating the future political status of Bougainville, an autonomous region that is seeking independence, while both sides strive to uphold the 2001 peace agreement that ended a decade of civil conflict. USIP supports research, policy discussions and in-country programming to address drivers of violence in Papua New Guinea.
Learn more in USIP’s fact sheet on the Current Situation in Papua New Guinea.
A USIP pilot program, called the Male Behavior Change Program in the eastern province of Morobe, seeks to not only understand the core reasons behind the violence but to change the social norms and structures that perpetuate it.
There is also a burgeoning movement of community leaders working to not only understand what’s driving the violence in Hela Province, but to build the foundations for peace at the grassroots level in places where outside interventions have either failed or are nonexistent.
Featured Publications
Putting Data Around Intergroup Violence and Sorcery Accusation–Related Violence in Papua New Guinea
This discussion paper provides analysis of newspaper reports from Papua New Guinea around two different but interconnected forms of violence: intergroup violence and sorcery accusation–related violence. The authors conclude that both types of violence are fueled by money politics, the widespread availability of guns and the normalization of violence, the erosion of traditional and local forms of leadership and regulation, and public service delivery failures.
The Relationship Between Social Media and Violence in Papua New Guinea
The online sharing of gruesome images and videos showing dead and dismembered bodies on social media is commonplace in Papua New Guinea (PNG). For instance, when a horrific massacre took place in Enga province in February this year, it was images shared on WhatsApp that alerted many to the violence.
The Current Situation in Papua New Guinea
As the United States reengages in the Pacific Islands, Papua New Guinea is emerging as an increasingly important U.S. partner. It is the region’s largest country, with a landmass about the size of California and a population estimated to be somewhere between 10 and 17 million. In April 2022, Papua New Guinea was designated as one of the focus countries under the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability (SPCPS). In May 2023, the United States and Papua New Guinea signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement.
Current Projects
Fragility and Conflict
The Global Fragility Act (GFA) is an ambitious law that makes preventing conflicts and promoting stability in countries prone to conflict a U.S. foreign policy priority. Following years of efforts that overemphasized military operations in response to extremist violence and insurgencies, the GFA requires a long-term investment to address the underlying drivers of conflict. The Biden administration has released a new strategy to implement the GFA with 10-year commitments of assistance to a group of fragile states. The GFA and the new strategy rely, in part, on recommendations made by the USIP-convened Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States.