NEW POLICY TO ADDRESS ISSUES OF DISPLACED PERSONS
By Lethisa Kolokol
The Department of Provincial and Local Level Government Affairs (DPLG) has been coordinating with the Natural Disaster Office and the Papua New Guinea International Office of Migration (PNGIOM) to come up with a policy that will address the issues of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in the country.
The workshop will host ideas, case studies and resolutions that will be used to draft a new policy that will act as a guideline for handling cases of Internally Displaced Persons.
In his opening remarks, the deputy secretary for the DPLG, Mr Joseph Warus clarified this proposed policy is the first of its kind in the country and the region as well and it is aimed at addressing people who have suffered from natural or man-made disasters.
Mr Warus made special references to the case of the displaced Manam, Kadava, and Mulitaka people, stating that at the moment, the government only provides relief assistance to those affected by natural disasters and there is no proper policy that guides what happens to these people after the provision of relief assistance.
He says in 2015, the National Executive Council (NEC) tasked the DPLG to carry out an assessment of the situation with the natural disaster cases and today a new policy is underway as these workshops will validate the proposed policy.
Upon the completion of the National Internally Displaced Persons Policy workshops in all respective regions in the country, the proposed policy will be drafted and submitted to the NEC for an official endorsement.
