This paper details a number of recent networked actions that have led to positive directions in the fight against sorcery accusation related violence in PNG. It also identifies some common themes and issues arising from these responses to analyse current responses and identify potential future...

The Pacific islands region is currently experiencing an intensification of interest in culture as an enabler, rather than an inhibitor, of development. The emerging field of cultural economics seeks to chart ways in which culture can lead to both economic development and also to other goals,...

Traditional knowledge is increasingly being seen as a new potential source of economic value in the Pacific Islands region. As a result of this, and a belief that traditional knowledge is currently at risk in a number of respects, a move to protect it has developed over the past decade. This...

This paper examines the problems of incorporating norms of customary law into the substantive criminal laws of a Melanesian state system. It focuses on the particular crime of sorcery in Vanuatu. It explores the historical and sociological contexts to the belief in sorcery in society today, and...

Intellectual property regulation, taken at its broadest level, is concerned with the production, access to, use of and control over knowledge and a wide range of other intangible resources. These include, but are not limited to, inventions, ideas, songs, designs, aspects of cultural heritage,...

This article argues that increasing the quality of conflict management in legally plural countries requires creating and strengthening linkages between state and non-state justice systems. Given that the resources relevant to conflict management are currently held by both state and non-state...

This discussion paper reports on a number of key emerging research findings from a multi-year collaborative research project into overcoming sorcery accusation-related violence (SARV) in Papua New Guinea (PNG). In particular it identifies: (1) the characteristics of those accused and harmed by...

This discussion paper details three main ways children are impacted by sorcery accusation related violence (SARV) in Papua New Guinea (PNG) today. First, it explains that infant and childhood mortality and illness are a major trigger of accusations of sorcery. Second, it identifies a newish and...