Justice and security
Building legal and security institutions capable of operating effectively remains a challenge across the Pacific. In a region characterised by regulatory pluralism, the state is not always the primary provider of justice and security. In Melanesia, state law coexists with local social orders whose authority draws on kastom (custom) and the church, while private providers are rapidly transforming security governance in the region. The interaction between different actors and institutional forms involved in ‘justice’ and ‘security’ provision is a core theme of our research.
IB 2019/06 Perceptions of Peacebuilding in Solomon Islands Post-RAMSI
This In Brief is based on the National Perceptions Survey on Peacebuilding for Solomon Islands commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme under a United Nations Peacebuilding Fund project implemented by...
Policy Brief 2018/01 RAMSI: Lessons, Impacts and Recommendations
This Policy Brief is in two parts. First, it summarises findings on five key questions that underpinned the research into the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), drawing directly on our interviews...
IB 2018/18 Community Law-Making and the Codification of Customary Laws — New Currents
The July 2018 Codification and Creation of Community & Customary Laws in the South Pacific and Beyond conference at The Australian National University focused on the proliferation of unofficial community law-...
IB 2018/17 Early Modern Witchcraft Trials: Are There Lessons for Sorcery Accusation-Related Violence Today?
In this In Brief, the author talks about the relevance of witchcraft trials in early modern Europe to the contemporary sorcery accusation-related violence in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
DP2018/02 Timor-Leste and the Empowerment of Women: Access to Justice and the Future for Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Survivors
Women in Timor-Leste have long experienced discrimination in health, education, employment and access to justice (UN General Assembly 2008). The prevalence and severity of gender-based violence (GBV) is considered to...
IB 2018/09 Markets Matter: ANU–UN Women Project on Honiara’s Informal Markets in Solomon Islands
In Honiara, many households rely on income from selling produce in informal (community-based) urban markets, yet little is known about these markets and their economic opportunities. What we do know about Honiara’s...
The RAMSI Legacy for Policing in the Pacific Region
For the past 14 years, approximately one-fifth of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) Participating Police Force (PPF) has comprised police from 13 Pacific Island countries, referred to as the...
IB2017/34 Sustaining Peace in Solomon Islands through a New Constitution? Part 2: The Draft Constitution and Recent Discussions
This In Brief is the second in a series on the process of developing a new constitution in the Solomon Islands. It looks at recent dialogues and resolutions, and shows how some historical grievances are addressed in...
IB2017/33 Sustaining Peace in Solomon Islands through a New Constitution? Part 1: Historical Contestations
This In Brief is the first in a two-part series that discusses a critical aspect of the Solomon Islands (SI) internal peace process through the development of a new constitution. It provides a brief history of the...
IB2017/31 Sorcery Accusation–Related Violence in Papua New Guinea Part 4: Trends over Time and Geographic Spread
This is the last In Brief in a four-part series that summarises key findings from an analysis of reports of sorcery accusation– related violence (SARV) in national newspaper articles and court cases over a 20-year...
IB2017/30 Sorcery Accusation–Related Violence in Papua New Guinea Part 3: State and Non-State Responses
This is the third In Brief of a four-part series on the findings from a quantitative analysis of media and case law relating to sorcery accusation–related violence (SARV) in Papua New Guinea during a 20-year period (...
IB2017/29 Sorcery Accusation–Related Violence in Papua New Guinea Part 2: Key Characteristics of Incidents, Victims and Perpetrators
It is extremely difficult to gauge the nature and extent of sorcery accusation–related violence (SARV) at a national level in any country. In part this is due to under-reporting and because official health and...
IB2017/28 Sorcery Accusation–Related Violence in Papua New Guinea Part 1: Questions and Methodology
This In Brief sets out the main research questions and summarises the methodology of a major study into sorcery accusation–related violence (SARV) in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The study began in November 2016 and will...
IB2017/20 The RAMSI Legacy for Pacific Policing
Drawing on more than 100 interviews, this In Brief summarises preliminary findings from a research project supported by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) that has been examining the experience and impact of RAMSI’s...
DP2017/5 New Pathways Across Old Terrain? SSGM Research on Resources, Conflict and Justice
Melanesia is characterised by complex interactions among land and natural resource uses, legal and political institutions, and interest groups. These interactions play out at the national level, where institutions...
IB2016/29 What’s in the News? Urban Issues in Solomon Star Online Reporting, 2014–2016
One of the greatest challenges and opportunities facing the South Pacific is rapid urbanisation, and Solomon Islands faces some of the most pressing urban growth stresses in the region. Its urban population is...
IB2016/24 Politics, Organised Crime and Corruption in the Pacific
The notion of ‘organised crime’ typically conjures up images of criminal gangs. Some mafia and bikie gangs do operate in parts of the Pacific and have featured in local and international media. However, we argue that...
IB2016/21 New Developments in Papua New Guinea’s Research and Development Regulatory Framework
This In Brief updates In Brief 2015/24 that first reported on the emergence of a new regulatory framework around research and development in Papua New Guinea (PNG). It outlines developments in this area over the past...
Research on the RAMSI Legacy for Pacific Policing
In 2016 several SSGM scholars commenced work on a major research project exploring the legacy of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) for Pacific policing. Led by ANU College of Asia and the Pacific Dean, Michael Wesley, the project is a collaboration between the Australian Federal Police, the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police, the Pacific Islands Forum and the Australian National University.
RAMSI: What has it Meant?
After 14 years, the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) will conclude on 30 June 2017. RAMSI was originally deployed in mid-2003 at the invitation of the government of Solomon Islands Prime Minister Sir Allan Kemakeza with a mandate to restore law and order, to revitalise public finances and the economy, and to help rebuild critical national institutions.
The RAMSI Legacy for Policing in the Pacific Region
Approximately one-fifth of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) Participating Police Force (PPF) comprised police from 13 Pacific Island countries, referred to as the Pacific Islands contingent. As RAMSI was drawing to a close, it was timely to assess the impact of their involvement on police and policing in the region. Supported by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the research project was undertaken in 2017 by a team from the Australian National University’s Department of Pacific Affairs.
