Prime Minister (PM) James Marape yesterday launched the National Internally Displaced Persons Policy (NIDPP) 2025 2035 in Port Moresby city.

The NIDPP provides the framework for a more coordinated support to displaced Papua New Guineans IDPs; those who are returning to their land after displacement as well as host communities who put up land to support displaced people as a result of natural disasters or other such adversities.

The NIDPP 2025-2035, was developed in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and United Nations agencies in the country.

Prime Minister Marape, in launching the document, expressed his dissatisfaction that it had taken the Department of Provincial and Local Level Government nearly ten years to develop the policy when it was first announced in 2017.

“Government instruction came ten years ago, and we're launching this policy ten years late.”

He stated this adding that many displaced people such as those under the Manam restoration program (Madang), the Kadovar resettlement program (ESP), the Rabaul resettlement program (ENBP), and the Mulitaka restoration program (Enga), as well as the recent 2 Mile settlers (NCD), need such a policy in place to begin or complete the process so they can rebuild and carry on with their lives.

However, the Prime Minister did thank the Department of Provincial and Local Level Government Affairs (PLLG) along with Minister Soroi Eoe, for eventually developing the first of its kind policy for PNG and the Pacific.

“This policy will support and guide the development of legal and administrative frameworks that enable voluntary, safe, and dignified relocation, return, and local integrations of IDPs.”

“This landmark policy reflects our government’s dedication to ensuring that IDPs are not only protected but also empowered to rebuild their lives and contribute meaningfully to national development.”