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
On Asia Trip, Pope Francis Uses his Bully Pulpit
Pope Francis wrapped up the largest, farthest trip of his pontificate last week, which encapsulated his position as a simultaneous spiritual and political figure.
Gordon Peake on the Pope in Southeast Asia and the Pacific
During his 10-day trip to the region, the pope used “straight, plain-spoken language” while discussing pressing issues — such as climate change in Indonesia and violence against women in Papua New Guinea — in the hopes of spurring change, said USIP’s Gordon Peake: “No pun intended, he has a bit of a bully pulpit in these matters.”
Japan-Pacific Islands Summit: Contending with Nuclear and Colonial Legacies
Last week, Pacific Island leaders flew to Tokyo for the Pacific Alliance Leaders Meeting (PALM), a summit between Japan and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). The meeting, which has occurred every three years since 1997, is designed to elevate Japan’s engagement with the forum and address common challenges, including climate change, fisheries and development.
Current Projects
Religion and Conflict Country Profiles
USIP’s Religion, Peace and Conflict Country Profiles (RPACCs) are concise analytic overviews of the religious landscape in countries at risk of, currently experiencing or recovering from violent conflict. RPACCs are intended to be used primarily by policymakers and practitioners looking to develop rapid familiarity with the nature and status of religion in a given country of interest as well as to understand how religion intersects with conflict and peace dynamics. The RPACC series is an outgrowth of USIP’s previous work on Religious Landscape Mapping in Conflict-Affected States.
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.