No policy for displaced people, says officer

THERE is no efficient policy to deal with internally displaced people (IDP) in Papua New Guinea, according to Jason Siwat, director of migrants and refugee desk at the Catholic Bishops Conference.
“When you are looking at people being displaced in Papua New Guinea, either as a result of evictions, tribal or ethnic conflicts or natural disasters, there is no proper government procedure in place to handle people who find themselves in this situation,” he said.
Siwat said a policy dealing with IDP needed to be in place in order for budget allocations to be made annually, so that non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders who dealt with the resettlement of displaced persons could use the policy as a framework to access funding.
“In most instances when they are displaced, they end up illegally living in some urban areas or someone’s private land,” he said.