Child Soldiers Global Report 2004 - Papua New Guinea
| Publisher | Child Soldiers International |
| Publication Date | 2004 |
| Cite as | Child Soldiers International, Child Soldiers Global Report 2004 - Papua New Guinea, 2004, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/49880638c.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Papua New Guinea
Covers the period from April 2001 to March 2004.
Population: 5.6 million (2.7 million under 18)
Government armed forces: 3,100 (estimate)
Compulsory recruitment age: no conscription
Voluntary recruitment age: 16
Voting age: 18
Optional Protocol: not signed
Other treaties ratified (see glossary): CRC, ILO 138, ILO 182
The voluntary recruitment age was 16 but it was not known whether under-18s were serving in the armed forces. Children under the minimum age of 16 years might have also enlisted as many births were not registered.
Context
In March 2003, Papua New Guinea (PNG) withdrew its defence force from the island province of North Solomons (known as Bougainville). The move marked a significant step in the negotiations which followed a nine-year secessionist conflict which ended in 1997. In May 2003 Bougainville leaders submitted a second draft of a constitution for the newly formed autonomous region of Bougainville to the PNG government. Progress was reported on disarmament by former opposition groups in January 2004.1 The multinational military-civilian Peace Monitoring Group left Bougainville in June 2003. A transition team made up of 17 civilian monitors from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Vanuatu was sent to provide logistical support as Bougainville moved towards autonomy.2
Government
National recruitment legislation
The constitution states that "No person shall be required to perform forced labour", which does not include "labour of a reasonable amount and kind (including in the case of compulsory military service, labour required as an alternative to such service in the case of a person who has conscientious objections to military service)" (Article 43).3 There is no conscription.4 The minimum age for voluntary recruitment is 16, with parental consent.5 It was not known how many under-18s were serving in the armed forces.
The lack of a functioning birth registration system and the fact that a substantial proportion of the population did not know their dates of birth hampered the military authorities in establishing the age of incoming recruits. While the voting age for all citizens is 18,6 and domestic laws provide various definitions of the child, there is no definition of a child under the 1975 constitution. The government has argued that diverse values and norms in the country are not compatible with the definition of a child under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The government also noted that the definition of adulthood is closely linked to whether a person is deemed to be of marriageable age.7
Disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR)
In its report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2003, the government said that it did not have the capacity to carry out DDR programs, including of former child soldiers. During the conflict thousands of children had been deployed to fight by the Bougainville Revolutionary Army or in frontline positions by the so-called "resistance force" which was backed by the Papua New Guinea army. The report noted that the Catholic and other churches had provided trauma counselling and training in conflict resolution skills in Bougainville, particularly among young people. Former child soldiers had laid down their arms and applied to go to school, but the schools were oversubscribed and many had to be turned away.8
In its concluding observations on the government's report, the Committee recommended that the government ratify the Optional Protocol.9
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) was implementing the Bougainville Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Development Project for the rehabilitation of ex-combatants. Under the project, the Arawa Research and Training Centre offered training in metal construction to young people including ex-combatants from different factions in Bougainville.10 In 2002, the Australian government established an Ex-combatants Trust Fund, which aimed to reintegrate former combatants by providing them with skills and opportunities to engage in productive activities.11
1 "Pentanu may have been forced to resign", The National Online, 6 January 2004, http://www.thenational.com.pg/0106/nation30.htm.
2 "Transition team for Bougainville", ABC Radio Australia News, 13 June 2003, http://www.goasiapacific.com/news; see also UNIFEM Portal on Women, Peace and Security, http://www.womenwarpeace.org (Country profiles, Bougainville).
3 Constitution, at Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute, http://www.paclii.org.
4 Civil and political rights, including the question of conscientious objection to military service, Report of the UN Secretary-General to UN Commission on Human Rights, UN Doc. E/CN.4/2000/55, 17 December 1999, http://www.ohchr.org.
5 UNICEF, Adult wars, child soldiers: Voices of children involved in armed conflict in the East Asia and Pacific Region, October 2002, http://www.unicef.org (Publications).
6 Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), World Factbook 2003, http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook.
7 Initial report of Papua New Guinea to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Doc. CRC/C/28/Add.20, 21 July 2003, http://www.ohchr.org.
8 Initial report to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, op. cit.
9 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding observations: Papua New Guinea, 30 January 2004, CRC/C/Add.229.
10 UNDP, Bougainville Rehabilitation and Reconstruction and Development, http://www.undp.org.pg/brrdp.html.
11 Australia's Overseas Aid Program 2002-03, http://www.dfat.gov.au.
