Although Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) urban settlements and mixed neighborhoods have a reputation for endemic violence, many local observers report some improvements in urban safety and security over recent...
This policy note summarizes key lessons and conclusions from the World Bank's engagement in Solomon Islands under the justice for the poor program, which has been active in that country since 2009. It...
Justice interventions in Solomon Islands over the last decade have focused largely on assisting Honiarabased state institutions in the form of a variety of capacity-building programs. This has included...
As in many developing countries, data collection has proved to be a considerable challenge in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The country has contended with what are said to be amongst the highest levels of crime...
This report presents the research findings of the Justice Delivered Locally (JDL) initiative of Solomon Islands' Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs, which was supported by the World Bank's Justice for...
Island courts have been in operation in Vanuatu since 1984. Official documents have hitherto provided little information on their practical operations or utility, and our preliminary research in 2010 found...
Despite global gender equality gains in education, life expectancy, and labor force participation, two areas of persistent inequality remain: asset gaps and women's agency. In many developing countries...
The regionally unique Constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu provides that all land in Vanuatu belongs to custom owners and their descendants and that the rules of custom shall form the basis of ownership...
This evaluation assesses the performance of the Community Officer (CO) project, a trial community policing mechanism initiated by the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) in late 2009, with assistance...
The body of this report consists of five sections. Section one is an introduction to the JBE program and the context for the lease research on Tanna. Section two provides a profile of some of the relevant...
This note summarizes findings from an analysis of Vanuatu national leasing data drawn from the Vanuatu department of lands databases for the period of 1980-2010. It provides a preliminary indication of...
Papua New Guinea (PNG) has implemented numerous institutional changes over the past fifteen years with the avowed aim of bringing government closer to the people, improving accountability and, by extension...
What happens when the state's vision and expanding reach bring it into contact with traditional value systems and governance structures? In what circumstances can the distribution of resources in a fragile...
This briefing note outlines the reform process that produced these notable results, a process that began with targeted grassroots empowerment through engagement with PEKKA, an Indonesian civil society...
In countries where a large proportion of the total land area is held customarily, reform questions around land and development often tend to focus on the customary estate. Evidence from Solomon Islands...
In countries where a large proportion of the total land area is held customarily, reform questions around land and development often tend to focus on the customary estate. Evidence from Solomon Islands...
Under the Vanuatu constitution, the 'rules of custom shall form the basis of ownership and use of land.' Implementing this principle after decades of land alienation, however, has proved to be challenging...
There is broad recognition, across the political spectrum and in both 'northern' and 'southern' countries, that justice reform, and more generally the promotion of the 'rule of law', are central to development...
This case study examines contemporary experiences of conflict in four contexts: Papua New Guinea, with particular reference to the island of Bougainville and the Highlands region; Solomon Islands; and...
Under the Vanuatu constitution, the 'rules of custom shall form the basis of ownership and use of land.' Implementing this principle after decades of land alienation, however, has proved to be challenging...