PNG advocates localized prevention at UN peacebuilding meeting

Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Justin Tkatchenko has called on the international community to prioritize national ownership and community-led prevention in global peacebuilding efforts.

Addressing the 2026 Peacebuilding Commission Ministerial-Level Meeting in New York on September 24, Tkatchenko emphasized that international assistance must align with nationally determined priorities rather than replace them.

“External assistance cannot be a substitute for national ownership,” Tkatchenko told delegates. “The international community is most effective when it supports nationally determined priorities, strengthens national institutions, and helps societies develop their own capacity to prevent and resolve conflict.”

Speaking about Papua New Guinea’s experiences, Tkatchenko cited the Bougainville peace process, which marks 25 years of peace following the 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement and the subsequent 2025 Melanesian Agreement, as a benchmark for resolving complex disputes through peaceful dialogue and constitutional channels.

He also spoke about PNG’s National Prevention Strategy [2025–2030], launched in late 2025 in partnership with the United Nations. The whole-of-society initiative engages business groups, churches, women's organizations and youth groups to address the root causes of conflict and social violence.

Tkatchenko said emerging conflicts are increasingly exacerbated by poverty, weak institutions and climate change, describing climate impacts as an existential security threat to small island developing states.

He urged global leaders to move away from reactive crisis response and invest directly in women and youth as active partners in peace efforts.

“Peace is not built in conference rooms alone,” Tkatchenko said. “It is built in communities. It is built through trust. It is built through inclusion. And, ultimately, it is built by people who believe that their differences can be resolved without violence.”