Papua New Guinea Enabling Environment Snapshot

Period covered by the report: January-June 2026

Since the beginning of the year, Papua New Guinea (PNG) has faced a period of significant socio-economic and security challenges that have placed a strain on fundamental freedoms. The year started off with PNG being placed under increased financial scrutiny with the Grey-listing announcement in February 2026. With this announcement, there is now an increased pressure on the government to implement the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations to get PNG off the Grey-list. In addition to this, Government priorities have been largely focused on early preparations for the 2027 National General Elections. While the Government has committed resources toward substantial administrative reforms, including updating the flawed Common Roll, the electoral commission remains under-resourced, fuelling public scepticism and tension regarding the state's capacity to deliver credible elections.

The country has also been impacted by a chain of crises, such as the system failure of the electricity payment system in April 2026, leaving households and businesses without power for several days. Fuel shortages driven by foreign exchange issues were followed by unrest within the PNG Defence Force in April 2026, which saw soldiers staging unauthorised roadblocks and protests, forcing Prime Minister Marape to issue a late-night directive to restore military discipline and public order. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have been impacted by these challenges due to added security measures for workers in critical zones and panic buying without reliable services for daily operations. 

At the same time, the rapidly evolving pace of government’s online control mechanisms, including the implementation of large state-scale internet content filtering and the mandatory Digital ID verification, poses a threat to digital freedom and risks censoring legitimate educational resources from CSOs. There is concern over forced displacement of settlers during urban evictions and the passage of the Vagrancy Act 2026. Amidst these challenges, civil society actors continue to face intimidation and legal threats under the Cybercrime Act, indicating a narrowing of civic space despite the government's formal participation in regional initiatives to improve inclusivity and social protections in the country.