: E G : H H Co-Published by ANU E Press and Asia Pacific Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] Web: http://epress.anu.edu.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry NGOs and Post-conflict recovery: the Leitana Nehan Women’s Development Agency, Bougainville. Bibliography. ISBN 0 7315 3745 9 ISBN 1 9209 4218 1 (Online document) 1. Leitana Nehan Women’s Development Agency. 2. Non-governmental organizations - Papua New Guinea - Bougainville Island. 3. Peace-building - Papua New Guinea - Bougainville Island. 4. Humanitarian assistance - Papua New Guinea - Bougainville Island. 5. Bougainville Island (Papua New Guinea) - History. I. Hakena, Helen. II. Ninnes, Peter, 1960- . III. Jenkins, Bert A. 361.77 All rights reserved. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal,non-commercial use or use within your organization. Editor: Matthew May Publisher: Asia Pacific Press and ANU E Press Design: Annie DiNallo Design Printers: University Printing Service First edition © 2006 ANU E Press and Asia Pacific Press CONTENTS Abbreviations vi Acknowledgments viii 1 Bougainville from crisis to peace 1 Peter Ninnes 2 We must help ourselves 11 Peter Ninnes 3 Projects, partners and politics 22 Peter Ninnes 4 Strengthening communities for peace 37 Bert Jenkins 5 From peace to progress 70 Bert Jenkins 6 Gender, development and peace 90 Peter Ninnes 7 Partnerships, post-conflict development and peace-building 105 Jonathan Makuwira 8 Non-government organisations, peace-building and global networks 125 Peter Ninnes 9 Epilogue 147 Helen Hakena and Agnes Titus Appendixes 1 Staff and volunteers, 1992–99 155 2 Volunteer teams and communities, Strengthening Communities for Peace Project, 2000–04 156 3 Field counsellors, 2005–06 159 4 Board members, 1997–2005 159 5 Radio program topics, 2000–05 160 References 164 Index 176 ABBREVIATIONS AARH Australian Alliance for Reproductive Health ABG Autonomous Bougainville Government AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome AusAID The Australian Agency for International Development BACDA Bougainville Alliance of Community Development Agencies BCC Bougainville Constitutional Committee BEST Business Enterprise Support Team BICWF Bougainville Interchurch Women’s Forum BIG Bougainville Interim Government BIPG Bougainville Interim Provincial Government BOCBIHP Bougainville Community Based Integrated Humanitarian Program BOCIDA Bougainville Integrated Community Development Agency BPC Bougainville People’s Congress BRA Bougainville Revolutionary Army BRF Bougainville Resistance Forces BTG Bougainville Transitional Government BWPF Bougainville Women for Peace and Freedom CAA Community Aid Abroad CBO Community-Based Organisation CDS Community Development Scheme CDT Community Development Training CEDAW Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child CWA Catholic Women’s Association FWCC Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre IHD Integral Human Development INGO International Non Government Organisation IWDA International Women’s Development Agency LCOE Leitana Council of Elders LNWDA Leitana Nehan Women’s Development Agency MDGs United Nations Millennium Development Goals NGO non-government organisation NZ Aid New Zealand Development Assistance Program PCW Provincial Council of Women PMG Peace Monitoring Group PNG Papua New Guinea PNGDF Papua New Guinea Defence Force SCF Save the Children Fund SCP Strengthening Communities for Peace SDA Seventh Day Adventist TMG Truce Monitoring Group UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Program UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women UNOMB United Nations Observer Mission in Bougainville VAW Violence Against Women VBA Village birth assistant WHO World Health Organisation WTP Working Towards Peace YWCA Young Women’s Christian Association ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Peter Ninnes First of all I wish to thank Helen Hakena for entrusting us with the work of documenting Leitana Nehan’s story. It has been a great privilege to work with Helen and her team of staff and volunteers, and to contribute in a small way to their peace-building efforts in Bougainville. I am also grateful to the Leitana Nehan staff and volunteers for their willingness to tell us about their work and share their stories. I hope we have been able to do justice to your courage, commitment and achievements of the last 14 years. I wish to thank the James Blythe Fund, the Faculty of Education, Health and Professional Studies and the University of New England Research Committee for providing funds to support my four field visits to Bougainville to undertake this project. Rebecca Spence, Bert Jenkins and Jonathan Makuwira provided excellent professional support for this project, while Jennifer Chan provided the initial inspiration to undertake work of this kind. I am also grateful to Tamar Doff of the Centre for Research on Education in Context at the University of New England who diligently and expertly proofread the whole manuscript. The staff at Asia Pacific Press, including Maree Tait, Joanne Ridolfi and Matthew May, have been most helpful in compiling the book. Finally, I want to sincerely thank my family, whose support for each other during my absences for fieldwork have directly contributed to the success of this project. Bert Jenkins I would like to acknowledge the James Blythe Fund, administered by the Centre for Peace Studies at the University of New England, which funded my first trip to Bougainville in January 2003. I especially thank Rebecca Spence from the Centre for Peace Studies for alerting us to the peace-building work that Helen Hakena and Leitana Nehan were undertaking and graciously giving us contact details to pursue this project. Scott Fisher provided assistance with the first round of interviews in 2003. I am also very grateful to the staff and volunteers of Leitana Nehan for providing information to us. Peter Ninnes also deserves thanks for the oodles of time he spent editing the book and for being so understanding when work commitments slowed the writing process. I also thank my family for allowing me time to work on the chapters on the weekends. Finally, thanks also to Chloe the dog. Bougainville from crisis to peace 1 1 BOUGAINVILLE FROM CRISIS TO PEACE Peter Ninnes Nations in the Southwest Pacific have experienced a number of armed conflicts and episodes of civil unrest in the last two decades. These have included the secessionist war on Bougainville, Papua New Guinea (1988–98), the ‘ethnic tension’ in Solomon Islands (1998– 2003), the three coups in Fiji, the ongoing secessionist movement in Papua, and the occupation and liberation of East Timor (1975–99). In each of these conflicts, grassroots non-government organisations (NGOs) have appeared and attempted to prevent or overcome violence and ameliorate its effects. When government services and control have broken down, or when international NGOs are uninterested or unable to help, grassroots NGOs provide important humanitarian, educational and advocacy services. Yet the crucial role played by grassroots NGOs in conflict and post-conflict recovery in the Southwest Pacific has not been well documented. The aim of this book is to document and analyse the work of one longstanding grassroots non-government organisation based in Bougainville. This NGO, the Leitana Nehan Women’s Development Agency (LNWDA or Leitana Nehan), provides many salutary lessons for grassroots NGOs undertaking peace-making and peace-building work. In the 13 years of its existence, it has contributed humanitarian assistance, provided formal and non-formal education programs on peace, gender and development, become a powerful advocate at all levels of society, and expanded its work through strategic partnerships with a host of local, national and international organisations. Its work has been recognised through the award of a UN Millennium Peace Prize in 1 2 NGOs and Post-conflict Recovery 2000 and a Pacific Peace Prize in 2004. This book makes a unique contribution to understanding the role of non-government organisations in promoting peace, gender and development in the Southwest Pacific by recording the story of the Leitana Nehan Women’s Development Agency and analysing how it has managed to be successful both during times of conflict and during times of peace. This book shows how the organisation has adapted to changing circumstances in Bougainville, how it has developed and expanded its operations and the impact of these changes on its ability to recruit supporters and partners. The book also analyses the organisation’s work in light of contemporary thinking about successful NGOs and effective peace-making and peace- building processes, drawing conclusions relevant to other NGOs undertaking peace and post-conflict recovery work. The province of Bougainville is politically a part of Papua New Guinea. As a result of the peace process, it has recently gained a high degree of political autonomy. Geographically and culturally, it is part of Solomon Islands (Kabutaulaka 1994), although there are also prehistoric connections to parts of Papua New Guinea (Spriggs 1992). The province comprises the large islands of Bougainville and Buka, a number of small adjacent islands, and the more remote atolls of Nissan, Caterets, Mortlock, Tasman and Fead. Much of