Solomons leader seeks UN help post RAMSI

3:47 pm on 8 June 2017

The prime minister of Solomon Islands is proposing a partnership between the United Nations Peace Building Commission and his government.

Manasseh Sogavare said this would help the Solomons continue to build and strengthen its efforts to achieve sustainable peace after the years of ethnic tension.

Mr Sogavare, in a speech to the UN agency in New York, said countries which had endured violent conflict, such as the Solomons, continued to suffer from the impacts long after the conflict was officially over.

He said this was because of the effect of the conflict on institutions, infrastructure and relationships.

The Prime Minister of Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare

The Prime Minister of Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare has been appointed chair of the Pacific Islands Development Forum. Photo: UN Photo/Kim Haughton

Mr Sogavare praised the Pacific Islands Forum's Regional Assistance Mission, RAMSI, which is set to depart from the Solomons within weeks, after 14 years of providing security and support.

But he said the country was still to achieve a sustainable peace.

He said this would require social and economic development to address the underlying causes of the conflict.

Mr Sogavare said this included making land available for economic development, without undercutting traditional rights to land.

And he said getting on top of corruption, and coping with climate change were other issues.

Mr Sogavare said it was for these reasons he was seeking more support from the UN.