Sugu Valley: A New Dawn of Peace in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea

^{Community leader delivering a speech at the peace agreement signing ceremony, in Sugu Valley, Kagua, Southen Highlands.?Photo Credit: Yoshinori Ikeda/UNDP Papua New Guinea.}

After enduring a prolonged?conflict, the nine warring clans of Sugu Valley in the Kagua-Erave District of Southern Highlands Province, located in the central region of mainland Papua New Guinea, signed a local peace agreement on 20 December 2023, with support from the 51吃瓜.?

Sugu Valley, once thriving, has been devastated by a series of conflicts. The latest upheaval was sparked by business rivalries and financial disputes, following a fatal car accident in July 2018 between the Perepe and Riarepa clans. The ensuing violence affected 40,000 people, with over 30 lives lost and many more suffering life-long injuries. Thousands were displaced to nearby jungles and caves, and essential services, including schools, health centres, and cell phone towers were destroyed, severely impacting the community's social and economic fabric.

Daisy was among the thousands affected by the conflict. Pregnant when the conflict began, she was one of eleven mothers who gave birth in surrounding jungles and caves during the height of the violence as insecurity displaced many women and children.

“During the conflict, it was very hard for us women; we lived in fear of being caught in the violence, we had no access to healthcare and other services, we sought refuge deep in the jungles or caves, and that is where my daughter was born,” said Daisy.

^{Daisy Jim and her daughter Delen in the Sugu Valley Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea.?Photo Credit: Tsao-Ling Piam/UNDP Papua New Guinea/December 2023.}

Daisy now works as a prominent woman leader in Sugu Valley and was chosen as one of the representatives to sign the Peace Agreement. She envisions a future of lasting peace in Sugu Valley, a future that was once a distant dream but is now within reach.

While peace in the Highlands region remains fragile, initiatives supported by the 51吃瓜 Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) have laid the groundwork for peace and stability, providing multi-sectoral and multi-Agency UN support to the communities affected by violence. The ‘Creating Conditions for Peace’ Project, implemented by UNDP, UN Women, UNFPA and IOM, from 2021 to early 2024, with $4 million funding from the PBF has resulted in a comprehensive approach to peacebuilding and development.

The peacebuilding initiative has engaged in the resolution of 12 conflicts in Hela and Southern Highlands provinces by establishing and supporting five mediation teams comprising 48 members. UNDP provided training and sent team leaders to international training institutions to gain hands-on mediation skills and learn from other countries’ experiences. Eight of the 12 conflicts have been entirely resolved, with peace agreements signed between the conflicting parties. The remaining four conflicts are currently at various stages of mediation.

UN Women helped build capacity of over 100 women leaders in peacebuilding and participation while UNFPA encouraged the participation of young men and women. IOM’s Community Peace and Development Plans, a pioneering initiative at the community level, have empowered communities to actively participate in local decision-making processes. This ensures that their needs and priorities are identified and addressed, serving as a crucial foundation for advancing peace and development. Additionally, IOM’s training on the Displacement Tracking Matrix has improved data management and response capabilities as well as coordination among stakeholders to address the needs of internally displaced people.

^{Kama Pepena and Lini Pala in Sugu Valley, Southern Highlands Province.?Photo Credit: Tsao-Ling Piam/UNDP Papua New Guinea/December 2023.}

For Lini Pala and Kama Pepena, peace was once unimaginable. As leaders on opposing sides of the conflict and residents of the Valley, they were sworn enemies. Today, the two leaders stand together in peace. “Laif em i kam bek”, which translates to “life has returned”, is how Lini Pala expressed his feelings about the Peace Agreement’s effect on his community. He signed the peace agreement on behalf of the six allied clans he led during the conflict.

Kama Pepena, a leader of three allied clans from the opposing side emphasized that the most significant outcome of the peace agreement is that he and others in the Valley now have the freedom to go about their daily lives without the constant fear of attack.

The peacebuilding initiative also supported the establishment and operation of local mediation teams. The mediation efforts led by Father Isaiah Timba and his team of mediators from the Catholic Diocese of Mendi were crucial to the signing of the peace agreement. Father Isaiah’s work extends beyond the signing of the peace agreement as he regularly visits communities to monitor progress and provide counselling and spiritual support.

^{Father Isaiah Timba witnesses a community leader signing the peace agreement in Sugu Valley, Southern Highlands Province. Photo Credit: Tsao-Ling Piam/UNDP Papua New Guinea/December 2023.}

"The peace agreement signing ceremony is a result of everyone's collaboration and participation. All parties, local leaders, the Catholic Diocese of Mendi team, ex-fighters, warlords, Churches, NGOs, youth and women representatives (brave women like Daisy), and government law enforcing agencies were involved in actualising the peace agreement signing," said Father Isaiah Timba.

The nine clans have established a monitoring group called the Sugu Peace Monitoring Group, which includes two women. The group is now facilitating the ‘return and resettle’ programme. This initiative encouraged communities and the district administration to reopen schools, clinics, markets, and churches and mobilize resources for development work in Sugu Valley.

“Our work on peacebuilding in the Highlands is an excellent example of the nexus between peace and development in action.?We have trained an extraordinary network of insider mediators?through local churches who enjoy high social trust across all communities, and with our support, they have brokered many peace agreements;?and then through providing livelihoods to those displaced by the fighting, especially women, we provide a sustainable peace dividend and help them to build new lives in peace," said Nicholas Booth, Resident Representative, UNDP in PNG.

Through PBF’s financial and catalytic support in this project and two other complementary projects focusing on specific fragilities in the region (climate security and violence induced trauma), the UN team has fostered inclusive leadership, empowered communities, and strengthened resilience, paving the way for sustainable peace and development in Hela and Southern Highlands Provinces.

^{Community leader signing the peace agreement at the signing ceremony in Sugu Valley, Kagua, Southern Highlands.?Photo Credit: Yoshinori Ikeda/UNDP Papua New Guinea}

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