Prime Minister, James Marape yesterday launched the National Internally Displaced Persons Policy (NIDPP) 2025–2035.
The NIDPP provides the framework for a more coordinated support to displaced Papua New Guineans (IDPs), those who are returning to their land after displacement, and host communities who put up land to support displaced people as a result of natural disasters or other such adversities.
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The NIDPP 2025–2035 was developed in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and United Nations agencies in Papua New Guinea.
Prime Minister Marape, in launching the document, expressed his dissatisfaction that it had taken the Department of Provincial and Local Level Government nearly 10 years to develop the policy when it was first announced in 2017.
“Government instruction came 10 years ago, and we are launching this policy 10 years late,” he said, adding that many displaced people such as those under the Manam restoration program (Madang), the Kadovar resettlement program (ESP), the Rabaul resettlement program (ENBP), and the Mulitaka restoration program (Enga), as well as the recent 2-Mile settlers (NCD), need such a policy in place to begin and/or complete the process so they can rebuild and carry on with their lives.
However, Prime Minister Marape did thank the Department Secretary Philip Leo and Minister Hon. Soroi Eoe for eventually developing the first-of-its-kind policy for PNG and the Pacific.
“This policy will support and guide the development of legal and administrative frameworks that enable voluntary, safe, and dignified relocation, return, and local integration of IDPs.
“This landmark policy reflects our government’s dedication to ensuring that IDPs are not only protected but also empowered to rebuild their lives and contribute meaningfully to national development,” he said.