Communities

Main languages: Melanesian (about 80 languages), Polynesian (about 5 languages), Pijin, English

Main religions: Christianity (various), customary beliefs or animism

Minority groups include Polynesians and i-Kiribati (Micronesian)

The population is 720,956 (2019 Census). Ninety-five per cent of the population is indigenous Melanesian, with smaller Polynesian (2.85 per cent), Micronesian (1.20 per cent) and Chinese, European, Micronesian-Melanesian and -Polynesian, and New Zealander-Māori (1.2 per cent) groups also resident. The Chinese community has been especially exposed to violence and discriminatory attitudes in recent years.

The Solomon Islands are an archipelago of approximately 992 small islands, of which 147 are inhabited. Ninety-five per cent of the population is indigenous Melanesian, with smaller Polynesian, Micronesian, Chinese, European, Micronesian-Melanesian and -Polynesian, and New Zealander/Māori groups also resident. Due to the relative isolation of its communities, there are many diverse languages, cultures and traditions. For this reason, local governance systems, including familial ties, are often more important than national political institutions.

The rapidly growing population is primarily Melanesian. While some 72 per cent of the population still lives in rural areas and relies on a semi-subsistence agricultural economy, the country is urbanizing rapidly. The central chain of high islands was historically occupied by Melanesians, while outlying islands, including coral atolls, were occupied by different Polynesian cultural communities. Many Polynesians have moved to the centre, and especially the capital Honiara.

The Micronesian Gilbertese (i-Kiribati) were resettled in the Solomon Islands from the 1950s, when both the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati) and Solomon Islands were British colonies, because of land shortages in the Gilbert Islands. By the 1970s about a thousand Gilbertese were established in the Solomon Islands, growing to around 4,000 by the 1990s, many living in Honiara.

In addition to i-Kiribati, there are small numbers of other migrant groups, mainly around Honiara, including Chinese and Europeans, but their numbers have fallen since independence.

Current issues

Despite its return to relative stability, the Solomon Islands continue to struggle with a range of issues, including land rights. While the Constitution makes limited direct reference to traditional land rights, these were previously implicitly respected. However, the drive for economic development in recent years has at times placed growing pressure on customary land rights.  For instance, indigenous communities still face the risk of their land being appropriated without their consent by logging companies, both local and international, which frequently deforest large swathes of environmentally sensitive areas, in the process depriving communities of their livelihoods and cultural spaces.

These issues have at times contributed to increased inter-ethnic tensions, driven by the perception that foreigners enjoy disproportionate control of the country’s wealth and resources. In February 2017, for example, the leader of the Parliamentary Independent Group, Derek Sikua, called in parliament for the government to address the increasing presence of foreign investors at the expense of the local indigenous population. Resentment of non-indigenous communities, particularly Asians, and their perceived affluence has been responsible for triggering periodic outbreaks of violence – for example, the looting of Chinese businesses in the capital of Honiara in 2006, 2012 and 2021. Initiatives such as the Indigenous Chamber of Commerce, Trade and Industries for Solomon Islands (ICCTISI), launched in April 2016, have been established with the stated aim of creating more opportunities for the indigenous population.

The Solomon Islands economy is still recovering from the unprecedented shocks over the last three years, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine plus the global economic slowdown have increased uncertainties. From a negative 3.4 per cent in 2022, real GDP growth was expected to grow at around 2.7 per cent in 2023. Weak spots included logging activities, which were severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, up to June 2023, logging volumes increased. While forestry and logging activities are projected to decline by 6 per cent in 2024, the fishing industry is expected to perform more strongly in 2024.The Solomon Islands is also struggling to cope with rapid urban growth, particularly in the capital of Honiara, as a result of large-scale migration from rural areas. Honiara has experienced a doubling of its population in less than 17 years, and the city’s annual urban growth rate of 4.7 per cent is one of the highest in the Pacific. This is putting immense pressure on urban service delivery, already in short supply, and leading to local tensions. Honiara also faces the challenge of informal urban settlements, where up to 35 per cent of Honiara’s residents – the majority of whom are indigenous islanders – now reside. While population growth and increasing rural–urban migration are significant factors contributing to the growth of these informal settlements, a lack of usable land for low- and middle-income earners also drives the trend. Besides poor living conditions and limited or no access to basic services such as sanitation, inhabitants are at increased risk of natural disasters and extreme weather events. Over 65 per cent of housing in informal settlements lacks durability, meaning that very many homes would likely not withstand strong winds or earthquakes. The settlements, some of which are located on steep slopes, are therefore at high risk of collapsing in the event of a natural disaster or severe weather, leaving residents in a situation of extreme vulnerability.

These issues are exacerbated by the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters such as earthquakes, including some of the worst in recent history with the 7.3 magnitude earthquake at a depth of 10 km that struck Guadalcanal Island at 12.03 pm on 22 November 2022, and in December 2016, near the island of Makira. A total of 38 aftershocks occurred by 1 am following the 2022 earthquake. As the effects of climate change intensify, a number of islands have already been submerged, with others rapidly shrinking, in the process displacing indigenous families from their homes. As the local environment is inextricably tied to everything from income generation and nutrition to spirituality and cultural expression, the impacts on the rights and wellbeing of indigenous communities are likely to be devastating if unaddressed.

Background

Environment

The Solomon Islands are one of the largest Pacific Island states. The country comprises an archipelago of approximately 922 small islands. Most islands are high, mountainous and of volcanic origin alongside some coral atoll outliers. More than sixty islands are populated.

History

The very first settlement of the Solomon Islands is believed to have occurred 30,000 years ago by Papuans originating from New Guinea. While archaeological evidence suggests that the Solomon Islands have been inhabited since at least 1000 BCE, narratives on the origins of the indigenous population vary between tribes and islands. Though the first European contact took place in 1568, for a long time after the presence of Europeans was limited. However, from the 19^th century extensive trade and missionary networks developed, culminating in the establishment of a British Protectorate in 1893. From around 1860, a practice of enslavement developed, known as ‘blackbirding’, by which Pacific Islanders were kidnapped, coerced and transported to Australia and elsewhere to work on sugar plantations. Many were taken from the Solomon Islands, and the severe mental and physical traumas they suffered is still having inter-generational repercussions in island communities today. The practice ended during the first years of the 1900’s with the introduction of legislation promoting the ‘white Australia policy’, which led to mass deportations and curbs on non-European immigration.

Following the end of World War II, when the Solomon Islands were occupied by Japanese forces, popular demands for independence grew. In the ensuing decades power was devolved, and by January 1976 the Solomon Islands became self-governing, followed by independence two years later in 1978. Its ties with the United Kingdom remain close, however, and its legal and parliamentary systems are strongly informed by the British model. The population has grown quickly. The economy is dominated by subsistence agriculture. The principal exports have been timber, fish, oil palm and gold, but the export economy was disrupted following economic and ethnic violence that began in 1999. Despite apparent contemporary stability some elements of the pre-violence economy, such as a promising gold mine, have yet to be re-established.

Governance

The Solomon Islands has a national parliament of fifty seats, and 185 wards in the nine provincial governments, and the Honiara City Council. In April 2024, after the necessary legislative amendments and electoral reform, the Solomon Islands conducted its first and historic Joint Election, where elections were being held at the same time and on the same day for members to the parliament, provincial assemblies and the Honiara City Council. For the first time, voters at a parliamentary election were generally given two ballot papers, where they would also vote for either their provincial assembly or City Council representative. This excluded the voting for representatives in the Western and Choiseul provincial assemblies, whose current four-year terms expire in 2028. Jeremiah Manele was elected Prime Minister in May 2024; he had previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade under his predecessor, Manasseh Sogavare.

In 1999, economic development problems and high unemployment, compounded by corruption, a rapidly growing population and substantial migration from other islands to the fringes of the capital, Honiara, resulted in tensions over access to land and employment and an outbreak of violence notably between Malaitans – the bulk of the migrants to Honiara and the main island of Guadalcanal, and indigenous Guadalcanese.

There was considerable violence between the Isatabu Freedom Movement, representing dissident Guadalcanese, and the Malaita Eagle Force. Clashes between the rival militias, the overthrow of the government and the collapse of policing led to tens of thousands made homeless, with many fleeing from the main island Guadalcanal for their home islands – an estimated 15,000–20,000 people evacuated in 1999 (mainly to Malaita), and at least 3,000 more were hiding away from their villages by July 2000. The crisis, often presented simply as an ethnic clash, took place in a broader context of economic change affected by globalization, corruption and the failure of a development model based on exploitation of natural resources such as logging and fisheries.

The Townsville Peace Agreement was signed in 2000 but failed to quell the violence. Perhaps as many as 200 people were killed over a four-year period until international intervention in 2003 by Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Islander police and military forces under the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI); the military presence transitioned to a police-focused mission in 2013. While Solomon Islanders largely welcomed RAMSI’s work to end violence, criminal activity and restore an effective government and public services, the Solomon Islands moved to the difficult stage of economic reform. Indigenous landowners and church leaders challenged proposals for land registration and privatization of public utilities. Prior to the April 2006 general election, major riots broke out in Honiara in which much of Chinatown was burned down and destroyed, and many Chinese residents were repatriated. The April 2006 elections led to one Prime Minister lasting just 14 days before a new one was sworn in, with unresolved questions about corruption and the link between some prominent politicians and civil unrest, indicating the continued existence of political instability.

Efforts were made in the following year to resolve the root causes of conflict and instability in the country, with a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) officially established in April 2009 – the first of its kind in the Pacific Islands. Established to investigate the causes of ethnic violence and to address people’s traumatic experiences during the violence that ravaged the country between 1997 and 2003, the Commission’s goals were to promote national unity and reconciliation. Its final report, which was based on first-hand interviews with over 4,000 people and which records an estimated 200 deaths thought to have occurred during the conflict, elicited some controversy as it was released by its editor without the formal approval of the President. Ultimately, however, the government officially acknowledged the report and committed to implementing its recommendations.

After a decade, the shortened version of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report was debated in Parliament in August 2023. According to a news report, the Prime Minister at the time, Manasseh Sogavare, outlined how the report was ‘handed to government in 2013, laid in Parliament and yet to be discussed fully by Parliament.’ The tabling of the motion in Parliament by the Minister for Traditional Governance, Peace and Ecclesiastical Affairs generated a lot of discussion with the emergence of issues such as the compensation to ex-combatants. The leader of the opposition, Matthew Wale, was reported as raising the ‘lack of a specified timeframe for the implementation of the TRC recommendations.’ He was noted as adding that ‘the second weakness arising from the delay is the lack of a coordinated reparation framework to guide Government in designing and implementing policies that address the Commission’s short-term recommendations.’ Still, the submission of the report in 2013 was viewed as an important step towards improving ethnic relations, particularly in the lead-up to national elections in November 2014 that saw independent candidates secure 32 seats in the 50-seat parliament. This led to the formation of a ruling coalition known as the Solomon Islands People’s Democratic Coalition (SIPDC) and the election of Manasseh Sogavare as the country’s Prime Minister. Sogavare had served as Prime Minister from 2000 to 2001 and again from 2006 to 2007. The election was the country’s first since RAMSI transitioned to a policing presence in 2013 following the violence.  RAMSI withdrew in June 2017, and since then Australian support has been provided through a small Australian Federal Police presence and the Australia Solomon Islands Partnership in Justice (ASIPJ) programme. The programme’s support focussed upon the delivery of ongoing stability, security, resilience and prosperity.

In November 2021, deadly riots broke out again in Solomon Islands. A peaceful demonstration mainly involving Malaitans became violent as tensions increased. Protestors tried to storm the personal residence of Prime Minister Sogavare and Parliament. Many buildings in Honiara’s Chinatown District were razed to the ground, and the authorities announced curfews. Australian Federal Police and the Australian Defence Force responded within 24 hours to Solomon Islands’ call for support under the 2018 new security treaty which replaced RAMSI and which allows Australian police, defence and associated civilian personnel to deploy rapidly if the need arises and when there is consent. Fiji contributed fifty troops a week later to the Australian-led force, while 34 personnel arrived from Papua New Guinea. The Solomon Islands International Assistance Force (SIAF) was established with this addition of military and police from Fiji, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand in support of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF). In August 2024, the final Australian members of the SIAF returned, after supporting what was described by the Australian government as ‘the successful delivery of the 2023 Pacific Games and the 2024 Joint Elections.’ SIAF concluded on 18 August 2024.