Peace Studies Department, School of Humanities

Researching peace and conflict in the Solomon Islands is a
sensitive and nuanced process.

The research must be guided by a methodology that is congruent
with the epistemology and ontology of the Melanesian context, the
peace studies discipline, as well as the researcher and participants involved. Research that is participatory and orientated towards action for positive social change is both desirable and necessary for effective research in this context. Participatory action research allows the research to capture and explore the affective, intrinsically intertwined nature of contemporary conflict in an indigenous setting. The key tenets of transformative research provide a relevant reference to the values that are inherent to participatory action research, an indigenous epistemology and peace research – that the research be a holistic, ethical, empowering and emancipatory process.

The Solomon Islands Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was the first TRC in the Pacific Islands. Its goals and activities – truth-seeking, reconciliation and the production of a report with a narrative of the conflict that focused on human rights violations – reflect the normative values of global transitional justice discourses. In this paper I draw on interviews with former staff of the TRC and my own experiences of working for the TRC to explore the implications of importing international transitional justice mechanisms into the local Solomon Islands context, and to draw attention to the cultural limitations of truth-telling. I argue that in order for peacebuilding tools to be effective in Solomon Islands, a strong commitment to, and understanding of, local context is required; transitional justice mechanisms must resonate with local understandings and practices of conflict resolution and peacemaking. The TRC has the potential to play a positive role in building peace in Solomon Islands if it is viewed as a component of an ongoing process. Truth and memory alone will not bring about justice, reconciliation or peace; the memories and truths that are collected and produced by the TRC ought to be used for future action, addressing ongoing injustices and grievances.

This guide was developed by Live & Learn Solomon Islands to support male advocates against violence against women to facilitate informal and interactive sessions in their communities. Male advocates can use this guide to talk with men in their community about stopping violence against women.

This guide was developed by Live & Learn Environmental Education Solomon Islands to support community-based staff to facilitate workshops with target communities.

The guide can also be used by local governments, Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), churches, Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) and individuals as part of formal or informal education to promote inclusive decision-making
and leadership.

This workbook is for community members, community groups, organisations and human rights trainers who want to increase their own and their community's awareness of how we can all work together to make our communities safe places to live. These people can all become Human Rights Defenders.

This workbook is designed for people who care about protecting women and children living near remote logging camps, plantations or mining areas in Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, however it can be used by anyone with an interest in promoting human rights to make sure that all members of the community are safe and that their rights are respected.

Migration and mobility are central features of the Pacific Islands landscape. The diverse island States dispersed throughout the world’s largest ocean are connected by thousands of years of migration, history and culture. Mobility continues to remain a cornerstone of contemporary Pacific Islander identity and is central to many facets of Pacific Islands life. Both push and pull factors – such as marriage and maintenance of kin relations, trade and exchange, livelihood and economic opportunities, and displacement and resettlement from conflict or environmental hazards – motivate movement.

Mobility brings both opportunities and challenges. With increasing rates of mobility and the expansion of extractive industries such as forestry, mining and commercial fishing in the region, it is of particular importance to understand potential community health challenges and vulnerabilities that may impact the populations and communities affected by these changes. Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a worldwide public health issue, and emerging evidence from Solomon Islands has demonstrated that migration-affected communities face particular challenges in relation to community health and VAWG, including increased risk of sexual exploitation, trafficking and abuse. Despite the high number of anecdotal reports on this issue, little evidence or data currently exists that specifically addresses the nexus of gender, mobility and health in the Pacific. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Community Health and Mobility in the Pacific (CHAMP) project has been established to address this gap. This report focuses on this nexus in the Solomon Islands context.

Peace infrastructures are persistent networks of institutions, organizations, and mechanisms that span various, potentially every level of a society, which contain expertise in conflict resolution or conflict transformation, and address ongoing or emerging conflicts within their respective areas of influence. Sometimes the individual components of such networks are also referred to as peace infrastructure. Usually, these peace infrastructures or their components are present in the context, in which case peacebuilding efforts aim at their strengthening, or they are created as part of a peacebuilding intervention. No universally accepted definition of peace infrastructures exists in the literature or practice. The most widely referred to, but by no means exclusively accepted one, is that provided by UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, according to which an “infrastructure for peace is a network of interdependent systems, resources, values and skills held by government, civil society and community institutions that promote dialogue and consultation; prevent conflict and enable peaceful mediation when violence occurs in a society” (UNDP 2013).