COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION DISCUSSES SITUATION IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA UNDER REVIEW PROCEDURE

8 March 2005

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon reviewed the implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in Papua New Guinea under its review procedure for States parties whose reports are seriously overdue.

The review by the Committee Experts, which took place in the absence of a delegation and report from Papua New Guinea, noted that the State party had not had any formal communication with the Committee since its initial report was reviewed in 1984.

In her remarks to the Committee, the country Rapporteur for the situation in Papua New Guinea, Committee Expert Fatima-Binta Victoire Dah, drew attention to the armed rebellion initiated in the nation’s capital Bougainville which lasted 10 years and which resulted in terrible humanitarian consequences. In 1997, some 7,600 civilians were killed and many thousands were displaced and serious human rights violations were reported to have taken place, Mrs. Dah said.

As a means of resolving the lack of communication between the State party and the Committee, Mrs. Dah suggested that the Chairman of the Committee should visit the Permanent Representative of Papua New Guinea in New York in order to discuss the possibility of providing the State party with technical assistance to help draft its overdue report to the Committee.

Several Committee Experts supported Mrs. Dah’s suggestion for the Chairman to visit the Permanent Representative of Papua New Guinea in New York and proposed a variety of solutions to that end. In that connection, an Expert noted that Papua New Guinea had submitted a report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2004 and therefore the State party should be in a position to submit a report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This was especially important given the numerous reports of racial discrimination taking place in the country.

The Committee is expected to end its three-week session on Friday, 11 March at which time it will release its concluding observations on the eight country reports it reviewed during the session.

Discussion

FATIMA-BINTA VICTOIRE DAH, the Committee Expert serving as Country Rapporteur, noted that Papua New Guinea had ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1982 and the following year had submitted its initial report to the Committee. Since the review of that report by the Committee in 1984, there had been no contact between the State party and the Committee. A number of decisions had been submitted on Papua New Guinea but with no reaction from the State party. Moreover, the Committee had used its early warning and urgent action measures on Papua New Guinea on five separate occasions.

Mrs. Dah said 13 years after its independence in 1975, Papua New Guinea had faced an armed rebellion initiated in Bougainville by a revolutionary army which had lasted for 10 years and which had resulted in terrible humanitarian consequences. In 1997, some 7,600 civilians were killed and many thousands were displaced. Serious violations to human rights also took place.

The country Rapporteur indicated that the population of Bougainville was primarily of Indonesian origin and there were implications of racial tensions there. The peace process following the 1998 signature of the peace agreement had been proceeding. In August 2001, a further agreement was reached calling for the creation of a peacekeeping force made up of States from the Pacific Forum and disarmament measures had been taking place as well. Moreover, in terms of a democratic process, elections were scheduled for next April.

Some 8,000 different linguistic groups lived in Papua New Guinea which was considered to be one of the poorest countries in the world. The country had difficulties in terms of exploiting its vast natural resources. Among other things, Papua New Guinea was vulnerable to natural disasters and had an increasing crime rate.

The Rapporteur mentioned that Papua New Guinea had ratified seven other international treaties in addition to the Convention and was one of the few developing countries in the world with no United Nations Development Programme representation.

By the end of 2003, there were some 7,800 refugees and asylum seekers hosted by Papua New Guinea. Mrs. Dah also noted that there were some 800 vernacular languages represented in the State party and 96 per cent of the population was Christian. Although immigration varied according to the place of origin, most of the immigrants residing in Papua New Guinea came from Indonesia.

Concerning asylum seekers, the Rapporteur noted that over 12,000 people from Indonesia have sought refuge in Papua New Guinea due to civil strife. In 2000, 2,400 persons who came from Irian Jaya received residence permits and ceased to be refugees; other asylum seekers were encouraged to return to Indonesia, leading to the return of some 150 persons, Mrs. Dah indicated. The remaining asylum seekers were considered to be "undesirable" by Papua New Guinea’s authorities, Mrs. Dah said. Moreover, those asylum seekers who had not been granted residency in Papua New Guinea were sent to detention centres.

Mrs. Dah sought information from the State party on non-governmental organizations existing in Papua New Guinea and about the role they played, particularly in the areas pertinent to the Convention.

While noting the more than 60,000 people who had been displaced in Papua New Guinea, Mrs. Dah asked for information regarding their situation. She also asked for information on the status and independence of the judiciary, on the remedies available to victims of racial discrimination, and about the Ombudsman Commission which had jurisdiction to investigate complaints of discrimination by governmental bodies in Papua New Guinea. In that context, Mrs. Dah drew attention to a report from the United States Department of State in 2002 which indicated that although the Government of Papua New Guinea was functioning, there was much corruption at various levels of the Government. She also mentioned the agreement signed between the Papua New Guinea Government and Australia in 2003 to help reverse the problems of crime, corruption and growing insecurity.

Mrs. Dah also noted that vulnerable groups were reportedly not benefiting from certain social benefits which they were entitled to, including health and education services.

In concluding, Mrs. Dah said Papua New Guinea would gain from speaking to the Committee which would be a positive step forward in helping the country overcome the problems of discrimination that it was facing. She suggested that the Chairman of the Committee visit the Permanent Representative of Papua New Guinea in New York in order to discuss the possibility of providing the State party with technical assistance to help it draft its overdue report to the Committee.

Another Expert noted that Papua New Guinea had submitted a report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2004 and therefore the State party should be in a position to submit a report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This was especially important given the numerous reports of racial discrimination taking place in the country.

Several Committee Experts supported Mrs. Dah’s suggestion that the Chairman visit the Permanent Representative of Papua New Guinea in New York and proposed a variety of solutions to that end.

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