The Joint Supervisory Board (JSB) meeting between the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) and the PNG Government convened today at the APEC Haus in Port Moresby.
Prime Minister James Marape when officially opening the meeting welcomed the President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Ishmael Toroama and his delegation and other leaders to the event.
Marape assured the people of Bougainville that his government is committed to the Bougainville Peace Agreement.
Marape also reminded the ABG delegation of the resolutions in their last JSB meeting last July.
In the resolution of that meeting, both parties agreed that the mechanisms for bringing forward the result of the Bougainville referendum would be by way of a sessional order.
The resolution also empowered the two Ministers (Minister for Bougainville Affairs, Manasseh Makiba, and his ABG Counterpart, Ezekiel Masatt) to engage in consultations on the nature and form of the sessional order, particularly in relation to:
- The question to be put to the National Parliament in relation to the Bougainville referendum result;
- The number of sessions required for parliament to deliberate on the question put;
- The voting majority that would be required for Parliament to endorse the result and any agreed next steps; and
- The broader manner in which the results would be tabled.
In determining the voting threshold for any decision that Parliament may make, Marape said that the National Government must be guided by legal advice with respect to the approach that should be followed.
“That advice affirms that any decision in relation to Bougainville independence, or any next steps, must adhere to the two third absolute majority rule prescribed under Section 17 that applies to an amendment of the Constitution.
“This is because any decision to grant independence to Bougainville would have bearing on Section 2 of the Constitution, which defines the area that comprises Papua New Guinea. This would in turn require a Constitutional amendment.”
Another point that the Prime Minister raised was the legal nature of the referendum.
“The referendum is sanctioned by our National Constitution.
“The Organic Law on Peace Building outlines in detail the arrangements that applied to the conduct of the referendum.
“The Referendum was held in 2019 and has been certified to have complied with those constitutional requirements. It was also assessed to have been free and fair and conducted to the highest standards.
“The constitutionality of the referendum has never been called into question.
“As a Government, we have always recognised our obligation to hold the referendum. But the important point that I want to make is that the Bougainville Peace Agreement, which provides the broader framework for the peace settlement that ended the Bougainville conflict, makes it clear that the outcome of the referendum is non-binding on the State.”