The National Executive Council has approved a further four-month extension of Papua New Guinea’s National Firearms Amnesty, allowing people to surrender illegal firearms and ammunition from September 16 to December 25, 2026, according to Police Minister Sir John Pundari.
The decision, Sir John said, was made following requests from communities seeking additional time to surrender illegal weapons amid targeted extraction operations by the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary under its zero-tolerance approach to illegal firearms.
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The extension follows what the Government described as effective Amnesty operations, prompting calls for more time to allow people in communities to surrender illegal firearms.
The National Firearms Amnesty commenced on February 27, 2026, and was formally launched in Enga Province as an initiative to help eradicate tribal fighting, armed robbery and other forms of violence, while providing the public with an opportunity to voluntarily hand over illegal weapons and ammunition to the State.
Minister Pundari said the Department was acting on the NEC approval for the extension in response to numerous community requests.
He appealed to people still holding illegal firearms to come forward and surrender them.
“My message to our communities is clear from today, our Police Force is acting on intelligence and extracting illegal firearms from communities. Take this opportunity to surrender before Police are at your doorstep,” Pundari said.
He said Police Commissioner David Manning had tasked special police units, including Kumul 23, to locate and arrest people unlawfully holding firearms.
He noted that protection under the Amnesty applied only to people who genuinely surrendered illegal firearms.
“Any person otherwise found carrying, concealing or unlawfully possessing firearm will be arrested and charged,” he added.
Commissioner Manning has directed that the safe and lawful conduct of Amnesty operations be treated as a key performance measure for every Provincial Police Commander.
“The Amnesty is achieving national reach, with weapons surrendered across the Highlands, Momase, Southern and Islands regions,” Manning said.
Commissioner Manning assured the public that every weapon surrendered would be immediately rendered safe, photographed, registered and secured under police guard.
Meanwhile, the Government acknowledged and commended provincial and district leaders for their responsible leadership and cooperation in supporting efforts to remove illegal firearms from communities.
The Government said it would continue working collaboratively with communities towards securing peaceful homes and safer communities.