Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Right	Section	Contents
Freedom of Association	History	Papua New Guinea makes provision for freedom of association in its constitution, enacted upon independence in 1975. Under Section 47, every individual has the right to freely associate with “political parties, industrial organizations, or other associations.” This right, however, is listed under the heading of “qualified rights,” so that its application is subjected to several qualifications laid out in Section 38. “Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.” World Constitutions Illustrated, July 24, 2023, https://heinonline-org.ccl.idm.oclc.org/HOL/COWShow?collection=cow&cow_id=322.
Freedom of Expression	History	Papua New Guinea officially enacted their constitution in 1975. Within this constitution, a section titled, “Basic Rights,” officially affords individuals the “freedom of conscience, of expression, of information and of assembly and association.” The freedom of expression, along with the other enumerated rights listed, are not limited on the basis of “race, tribe, places of origin, political opinion, colour, creed or sex.” Sources: “University of Minnesota Human Rights Library.” n.d. Hrlibrary.umn.edu. Accessed June 7, 2024. http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/research/newguinea-constitution.html. “Papua New Guinea 1975 (Rev. 2016) Constitution - Constitute.” n.d. www.constituteproject.org. https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Papua_New_Guinea_2016.
Freedom of Religion	History	Freedom of religion is conditionally protected under Article 45 in Papua New Guinea’s 1975 constitution: “Every person has the right to freedom of conscience, thought and religion and the practice of his religion and beliefs, including freedom to manifest and propagate his religion and beliefs in such a way as not to interfere with the freedom of others, except to the extent that the exercise of that right is regulated or restricted by a law that complies with Section 38…” (constituteproject.org). Articles 2.1, 2.5, 45, 55.1, and 233.3(aiii) grant religious freedom, equality, and prohibit religious discrimination. Parliament of Papua New Guinea. “Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.” National Parliament of Papua New Guinea. Last modified 2022. Accessed June 24, 2022. https://www.parliament.gov.pg/constitution-of-the-independent-state-of-papua-new-guinea. “Papua New Guinea 1975 (Rev. 2016) Constitution.” Constitute. Accessed July 26, 2023. https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Papua_New_Guinea_2016.
Freedom of the Press	History	Article 46 of Papua New Guinea’s 1975 Constitution protects press freedom: “Every person has the right to freedom of expression and publication, except to the extent that the exercise of that right is regulated or restricted by a law…‘freedom of expression and publication’ includes… freedom of the press and other mass communications media” (Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute, “Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea”).
Privacy Rights	History	Under the basic rights prescribed under Section 5(f), all citizens have the “protection for the privacy of their homes and other property” (Constitute Project, Papua New Guinea 1975 rev. 2016) . Additionally, Article 49(1) gives “Every person has a right to reasonable privacy in respect of his private and family life, his communications with other persons and his personal papers and effects, except to the extent that the exercise of that right is regulated or restricted by law that complies with Section 38 (general qualifications on qualified rights).” https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Papua_New_Guinea_ 2016? lang=en
Voting Rights and Suffrage	History	Under articles 50 and 126 all citizens over the age of 18 may vote unless they are serving a sentence over 9 months, have been convicted of a crime or have dual citizenship. Voters elect the members of Parliament via universal suffrage. (Constitute Project, “ Papua New Guinea’s Constitution of 1975 with Amendments through 2016” ).