Report - Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights

Testimonies on Indigenous Land Rights and Rights to Natural Resources
Presenters: Sose Tamarua, Solomon Islands participant, Susie Saitala K<strong>of</strong>e, Betty Blake
Sose Tamarua, Papua New Guinea
It is indeed an honour and privilege for me to be given this opportunity to share a few words about
<strong>the</strong> kinds <strong>of</strong> issues and challenges faced by women who belong to original customary landowning
groups in urban areas <strong>of</strong> Papua New Guinea (PNG). I will focus my testimony on <strong>the</strong> plight <strong>of</strong> women
from <strong>the</strong> villages <strong>of</strong> Motu and Koita tribes, who are <strong>the</strong> original inhabitants <strong>of</strong> PNG’s national capital
city, Port Moresby. I am happy to speak here as a mo<strong>the</strong>r and as <strong>the</strong> current President <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Motu-
Koita Women’s Association.
Allow me to begin with a brief outline <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> environment in which our Motu-Koita women perform
<strong>the</strong>ir role in traditional and modern contexts. PNG has a population <strong>of</strong> 5.3 million. Port Moresby has
215,000 people (as <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> last census), which grew to 300,000 in 2004 - 5% increase per year. There
are 11 Motu-Koita villages in Port Moresby, with ano<strong>the</strong>r 15 located outside <strong>the</strong> city.
According to our oral history and recent archaeological findings, <strong>the</strong> Koita tribe migrated from <strong>the</strong>
mountains down to <strong>the</strong> coast, while <strong>the</strong> Motu tribe migrated from <strong>the</strong> sea. Both tribes developed and
integrated <strong>the</strong>ir cultures, developing similar customs in many areas <strong>of</strong> traditional life over generations
<strong>of</strong> inter-marriages and o<strong>the</strong>r social interactions.
The villages are divided into “iduhu”, or clans, were members live in <strong>the</strong>ir respective section, in close
proximity to each o<strong>the</strong>r and near <strong>the</strong> clan chief. The clans have a mixture <strong>of</strong> Motu and Kita names
with some found in more than one village, which is reflective <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> assimilation over <strong>the</strong>
years. There are now 32 Koita clans and 18 Motu clans, with a total population <strong>of</strong> over 40,000 people
living in Port Moresby.
Just as in o<strong>the</strong>r parts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Pacific, land ownership and rights are central to <strong>the</strong> existence and
sustainability <strong>of</strong> our traditional societies in PNG. It should be noted that 97% <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> land in PNG is
still customary owned land and 3% was alienated during <strong>the</strong> colonial days. The idea <strong>of</strong> selling land
is completely foreign to Motu-Koita tradition and custom. But vast areas <strong>of</strong> land in Port Moresby were
acquired during <strong>the</strong> colonial days. The first compulsory acquisition <strong>of</strong> land was made in 1886 for a
European cemetery. Legislative provision for such compulsory acquisition <strong>of</strong> land for public purposes
was introduced in 1906.
Even now <strong>the</strong>re are strong feelings among our people that <strong>the</strong> land negotiations and dealings in
<strong>the</strong> past were unfair and improper due to <strong>the</strong> clash <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> two different cultures and value systems,
compounded by our people’s obvious disadvantage in understanding English and <strong>the</strong> alien paper
work. For example, deals were made where pieces <strong>of</strong> cloth and axes were exchanged for land, but
in our traditional context that permitted only temporary use and occupancy <strong>of</strong> land, which always
belongs to <strong>the</strong> clan. In one such case, eight acres <strong>of</strong> prime land was sold for two tomahawks and
half a pound <strong>of</strong> tobacco. In <strong>the</strong> 1950s and 1960s, land for military barracks was bought for $2 per
acre, land for a technical college at $25 per acre, and land for a huge residential area was
bought for $320 per acre. The possibility <strong>of</strong> leasing land was not raised with <strong>the</strong> traditional owners
at <strong>the</strong> time.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 159