Project Summary

The trajectory of violent conflict in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea over the last 30 years is concerning. There are an estimated one hundred and twelve (112) unresolved internecine conflicts across the Highlands provinces of Hela and Southern Highlands alone. Interpersonal, intra-group and inter-group disputes trigger tensions between and within various groups and lead to outbreaks of violent conflicts, causing destruction, disruption, death, injury, and grave human rights violations. Specifically, where opposing groups have collectively agreed to cease hostilities, the process of conflict resolution (usually involving compensation for deaths and losses) does not account for the need for the recovery of communities and inter-communal confidence building, leading to a continuous deficit of trust and lack of post-conflict recovery.

The Project for Addressing Conflict & Fragility in the Highlands (ACFiH) focuses on implementing critical peacebuilding interventions, including enhancing infrastructures for peace through strengthening the capacity of traditional/local leadership in the practice of effective leadership and conflict management, promoting inclusive community dialogue and decision making, and supporting local faith-based conflict mediation mechanisms. The project also seeks to co-create local peacebuilding platforms such as peace and development dialogue networks for enhanced local governance, confidence-building, and forums for community-level mutual learning and cross-fertilisation of local peacebuilding practices. The project undertakes detailed conflict analysis and listening exercises for Hela and Southern Highlands provinces to inform peacebuilding interventions further. It maintains a conflict tracking and monitoring mechanism for early warning/early action, complemented by a scoping exercise of existing formal law and justice institutions and its interaction with traditional/informal justice mechanisms.

Project Outcomes

Outcome 1: Communities affected by conflict in the Highlands have increased capacity to promote and demand for peace and social cohesion. 

Outcome 2: Duty bearers in the Highlands adopt inclusive, people-centred, and conflict-sensitive approaches to peacebuilding and conflict that promotes peace and security. 

Outcome 3: Peacebuilding and development interventions in Hela and Southern Highlands are responsive to conflict prevention and mitigation.

Expected Results

• Enhance communities’ access to the local government to regularly communicate and voice their expectations through the provincial and district peace and development dialogue networks.
• Organize inclusive district peacebuilding forums to encourage mutual learning from positive local examples of community-based peacebuilding efforts and foster a shared imperative for peace by empowering local communities.
• Establish/strengthen inclusive and conflict-sensitive accountability mechanisms to ensure responsiveness to communities and local civil society in local decision-making. 
• Support communities in conflict or recovering from conflict with community peacebuilding grants to promote peaceful coexistence, social cohesion, and mutual respect by strengthening cultural, social, and economic relations between communities.
• Support the mediation of existing and emerging inter-group conflicts through facilitated mediation by faith-based organisations.
• Increase the capacity of local traditional community and tribal leaders with leadership and conflict resolution skills to promote and demand peace and social cohesion.

Status: Active

Time Frame:
• Project Start Date: July 2021
• Project End Date: June 2024
Location:
Hela and Southern Highlands Provinces, Papua New Guinea
Focal Area:
Peacebuilding and Post-Conflict Recovery

Beneficiaries:
• Hela Province 
• Southern Highlands Province 

Partners:
• Hela Provincial Government 
• Southern Highlands Provincial Government
• Catholic Diocese of Mendi (CDM)
• CARE PNG
• Conciliation Resources (CR)

Donor(s):
• Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)

Budget: USD 3,000,000

Project Duration: Thirty-Six Months

Contacts:
Project Manager
Ahmad Rashid Watanpahl
Email: ahmad.rashid.watanpahl@undp.org 

Highlands Joint Programme Coordinator
Yoshinori Ikeda
Email: yoshinori.ikeda@undp.org