UN helps with peace awareness in Bougainville

Transcript

ROY TRIVEDY: The aim of this is to try and ensure that information about the Bougainville peace agreement, all of the arrangements that have been made between now and 2019 or whenever the referendum will take place actually people have the information to be able to make an informed choice of what they want. It is a mobile cinema vehicle which will go around all the different parts of Bougainville ensure that information is provided to people in quite remote areas. It will also ensure that information about these sustainable development goals can be provided to people. So it is really about awareness raising information provision and so on.

DON WISEMAN: Is it going to be manned by UN staff or ABG staff?

RT: It is a vehicle which we are providing to the ABG and they will then manage it and be responsible for it. The UN's role is to support both governments, national government and the ABG to ensure that all of the preparations towards the referendum and all of the Bougainville peace agreement clauses are actually implemented and so on.

DW: A lot more really is needed as you will know from your various trips down there, that Bougainville is still quite some way away from the point it needs to reach isn't it? So the UN I imagine is wanting to do a lot more.

RT: Well first thing to say on that is definitely there is some way to go there is a lot of preparatory steps to get to 2019 - 2020 by which time the referendum has to be held. Part of this includes a whole series of things around weapons disposal. Issues of governance all of the autonomy review arrangements. So there are a range of quite tactical things that need to be done. The other part is of course the work around the referendum and all of that is going on in Bougainville. People, most ordinary Bougainvilleans are just trying to improve their lives. Trying to get improved services education health, water and sanitation, housing, you know across the whole range of things and the ABG has quite a considerable challenge to try and ensure that those services continue to improve. The economy of Bougainville continues to improve and that there are jobs, employment for people and in that sort of broader context then a lot of the work around the referendum can also be delivered. It requires both governments taking a real keen interest on this and making sure that all of the key decisions are taken in good time to allow for smooth implementation.

DW: Do you think all of the parties involved are approaching this in the right frame of mind?

RT: You know it is difficult to say what frame of mind people are approaching this? I think the key is to ensure that the leaders both of National Government and ABG are ensuring that people can make an informed choice whenever they make that choice. That all of the other things that need to be done to be able to get to the 1029-2020 deadline. You know all of those things are in place decisions are made in good time and so on. And I think the more that ordinary people begin to see things happening the more confidence they get in that process. Because one of the things we did this last few days was also to print and circulate 10,000 copies of what the peace agreement actually states. So that people can make informed choices. Another part of our package of support at this stage has been to help the ABG open the community information centre where people can go, can ask questions that they are unsure of, can find out exactly what the ABG is doing and all of that I think together with other things that are also happening. Will build up hopefully to people having the right information to be able to make the choices that they need to make.