Civil society organisations are urging the Papua New Guinea government to take immediate action to end pervasive land grabbing and illegal logging after these issues were highlighted by governments around the world in formal recommendations put before the United Nations yesterday. (1)

Photo: Ronny Hansen, Rainforest Foundation Norway

A group of civil society organisations, including ACT NOW!, Global Witness and Rainforest Foundation Norway, held a panel discussion inside the Palace of Nations in Geneva on Friday to review the outcomes from Papua New Guinea’s Universal Periodic Review.

A new report published by the United Nations Human Rights Council is critical of the SABL land grab and the PNG government’s response. The UN says the land grab has been especially harmful to minorities and indigenous peoples.

The SABL land grab has resulted in over 5 million hectares of land being unlawfully taken from indigenous rural people and given to foreign corporations.

Source: Radio NZ

The Papua New Guinea Forest Minister has been urged by a transparency and environmental NGO to allow an audit of financial reporting by the logging industry.

Despite a new report by the Oakland Institute tracking massive tax evasion by foreign companies involved in PNG forestry, the minister Douglas Torumiesa has defended the loggers.

Mr Tomuriesa attacked the report's findings as being inaccurate because the companies do pay log export taxes.