The United Kingdom is the main contributor to the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, which funds programs in Bougainville and the Highlands region of Papua New Guinea.
Last week, British High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea Keith Scott said that the United Kingdom, as a Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council, regularly engages in negotiations on Bougainville and offers support and other assistance through UN and other international development agencies.
“We provided K425,000 for the UN Post-Referendum Support Project, with potentially up to another K1 million available, including for Bougainville’s economic development,” High Commissioner Scott said.
Since 2018, the government has contributed more than K160 million to Papua New Guinea by key donations to multilateral such as the World Bank (International Development Association), the EU, UN organizations, and the Global Fund (OECD figures). And there's their separate assistance to Bougainville, which they've provided over the years.
“The UK, as Permanent Member of the UN Security Council, participates actively in discussions on Bougainville,” he said. “We have sent observers for the independence referendum and contributed K450,000 to the UN Referendum Support Project. We have also sponsored two study tours to the UK in 2016 for leading representatives from PNG and Bougainville governments to learn about the post-conflict political settlement in Northern Ireland and the autonomy arrangements in Scotland.”
He added, “We have also arranged two visits to Bougainville by former Minister for Presidential Affairs for South Sudan and former member of the Irish Republican Army to discuss their experiences of engaging with peace processes. We sponsored a peacebuilding forum in Arawa in March 2019 for 60 participants and we have assisted with K45,000 to fund Women’s Safe House in Haku, Bougainville.”
