Papua New Guinea: Visits & Communications

Papua New Guinea: Lethal Force Used to Disperse Crowd on 31 October 2005

Violation alleged: Deaths due to excessive use of force by law enforcement officers

Subject(s) of appeal: 3 males (minors)

Character of reply: No response

Observations of the Special Rapporteur

The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of Papua New Guinea has failed to cooperate with the mandate he has been given by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

Allegation letter sent on 10 November 2005

I would like to draw the attention of your Excellency’s Government to reports regarding accounts of police violence against children.  According to the information I have received, three school children who were shot dead by police on 31 October in Enga province while another twenty to thirty five persons, some as young as nine or ten years old, were injured. The police reported that they were met by rock-throwing students when they went to arrest the headmaster of Porgera top-up primary school. It is my understanding that these executions have taken place in the context of repeated police violence -including arbitrary arrests, torture and deaths in custody- against children perceived as gang members, street vendors, child sex workers and boys engaged in homosexual conduct.  At the same time, internal police statistics indicate that very few officers are punished for violence against children.

If these allegations were correct, there would be ground for serious concerns. Therefore, while I do not wish to prejudge the accuracy of these allegations, I would like to draw the attention of your Excellency’s Government to the fundamental principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and political Rights. Article 3 and 6 of these instruments, respectively, provide that every individual has the right to life and security of the person, that this right shall be protected by law and that none shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her life.  I would also like to refer your Government to the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Firearms by Law Enforcement officials applicable to such an incident as the one that took place in Enga province on 31 October. Under the Principles, law enforcement officials may use lethal force only “when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life”. When doing so they must act with restraint and in proportion to the seriousness of the offense, minimize injury and respect and preserve life.

In this context, I urge your Government to take all necessary measures to establish responsibility in the above-mentioned killings and to adequately sanction the perpetrators.