Bougainville

United Nations officials today described the recently ended observer mission in Bougainville as an overall success that helped lead to the end of the violence in the province which had fought a years-long secessionist fight against Papua New Guinea.

With the swearing in of Bougainville's first autonomous provincial Government last month, the United Nations Observer Mission (UNOMB) had successfully completed its work and Papua New Guinea had taken a milestone step, which ended years-long secessionist fighting on the island, a senior UN official told the Security Council today.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council paid tribute to the leaders and people of Papua New Guinea for fully implementing the peace agreement that ended long secessionist fighting and culminated today with the swearing-in of the new autonomous provincial government of Bougainville island.

With elections for the first autonomous government in the Papua New Guinea province of Bougainville scheduled for late May and early June, the United Nations mission there plans to fold its tent at the end of June, a report to the Security Council says.

Although major progress has been made in the peace process in Bougainville in recent months, the province of Papua New Guinea is not expected to hold elections by the end of the year as planned, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report on the United Nations mission there.

Bougainville, now autonomous after a decade of secessionist fighting against Papua New Guinea, has destroyed at least half of its weapons, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today.

Responding to increased stability in Bougainville, the United Nations today proposed replacing its current presence with a smaller observer mission as the island heads towards the establishment of an autonomous government.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the decision by Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Vanuatu to dispatch a small civilian transition team to Bougainville after the group currently monitoring the peace process there leaves the Papua New Guinean island.

Despite the remaining obstacles, the Bougainville peace agreement can be fully implemented before the end of the year, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, stressing that international support to the island will be more critical than ever.

While the peace process in Bougainville is stronger than ever, it still needs nurturing, the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report issued today on progress made by the United Nations mission to the island in Papua New Guinea.