Between  April and July 2009 police raided villages in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, burning down at least 130 buildings and forcing out families from their homes, including young children, pregnant women and the elderly.

Residents of Wuangima, where most of the evictions took place, told Amnesty International that they had no prior warning that their homes would be demolished and in many cases had no opportunity to take their belongings before their houses were burnt. No alternative housing had been provided to them by the government and many families from the area now depend on their relatives for shelter and food.

The area is adjacent to the Porgera gold mine, one of the biggest gold mines in Indonesia, which is 95% owned and operated by subsidiaries of the largest gold mining company in the world, Canadian-based Barrick Gold Corporation (Barrick), as part of the Porgera Joint Venture (PJV).

In response to a worsening law and order situation in the area, PJV supported an increased police presence in the area, supplying accommodation, food and fuel to the police under an agreement that PJV claims was conditional on the police abiding by national laws and international standards, including the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.  As soon as PJV became aware that the police were burning down people’s homes right next door to the mine’s facilities, they should have recorded and reported the activity to the Papua New Guinean authorities and urged an investigation, as recommended by the Voluntary Principles.

PJV and Barrick publicly defended the police activity and initially claimed that no forced evictions had taken place. Only after significant follow up by Amnesty did they acknowledge that they believe the police did evict people from their homes in Porgera, and that further investigation was warranted.

Amnesty International urges the Papua New Guinean government to carry out a full investigation into forced evictions and police violence. The report urges the prosecution of those responsible, and for victims to be provided with remedies. It also calls on Barrick and PJV to provide information regarding the police conduct to the Papua New Guinean authorities and to urge the authorities to investigate.

To read Amnesty International’s report, click on:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA34/001/2010/en/2a498f9d-39f7-47df-b5eb-5eaf586fc472/asa340012010eng.pdf