30-year wait ends for human rights

Papua New Guinea’s Department of Justice and Attorney-General [DJAG] has launched the long-awaited National Human Rights Policy in Port Moresby, ending a nearly 30-year wait for a national oversight framework.

The human rights policy was launched in partnership with the European Union [EU] and the United Nations [UN].

The policy aims to translate constitutional guarantees into practical protections for citizens across the country, with a focus on law and order, gender-based violence [GBV], land rights, and access to public services.

EU Ambassador to PNG, Erica Hasznos said the policy was the result of an inclusive consultative process involving civil society, churches, traditional leaders, and state agencies.

“This is a very important day in the sense that we have a human rights policy in place,” Hasznos said.

“It is good to have a policy, but it is even better to have action based on this policy. The EU will stand by Papua New Guinea as a committed partner to turn this policy into real action.”

Hasznos said the EU has committed K7 million in direct support for human rights projects.

This includes funding to draft constitutional amendments, set up the future National Human Rights Commission, and support the ongoing K50 million EU Spotlight Initiative targeting gender-based violence.

UN Resident Coordinator Shalini Bahuguna commended the Marape-Rosso government for taking a whole of government and society approach to address human rights issues.

“The Constitution of Papua New Guinea is amongst the world’s strongest in terms of human rights protection,” Bahuguna said.

“This policy translates those constitutional guarantees into real, practical results for people, whether children can attend school, women are protected from violence, or communities can access justice.”

Bahuguna said the real work now moves to implementation at the provincial, district, and ward levels.

DJAG Deputy Secretary for Legal Policy, E’ava Geita said the department accepts the responsibility of leading the national implementation.

Geita outlined DJAG's four strategic pillars under the plan:

Establishing the National Human Rights Commission;
Building institutional capacity across state agencies;
Fostering cross-sectoral partnerships; and,
Enforcing strict monitoring through a National Mechanism for Implementation, Reporting, and Follow-up [NMIRF].

“This has been a long and arduous journey spanning over three decades,” Geita said. “With the formal launch of this policy, our focus shifts decisively from design to rigorous implementation.”