page_title: Autonomous Region of Bougainville
section_title: Peace agreement and autonomy
hierarchical_section_title: Autonomous Region of Bougainville / History / Modern history / Peace agreement and autonomy
caption_attribution_description: HMAS Wewak unloading or loading an Australian Army truck during Operation Bel Isi on Bougainville
context_page_description: Bougainville, officially the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, is an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea. The largest island is Bougainville Island, while the region also includes Buka Island and a number of outlying islands and atolls. The interim capital is Buka, though it is expected that major government services and buildings will be moved to Arawa, following reconstruction.
  In 2011, the region had an estimated population of 250,000 people. The lingua franca of Bougainville is Tok Pisin, while a variety of Austronesian and non-Austronesian languages are also spoken. The region includes several Polynesian outliers where Polynesian languages are spoken. Geographically the islands of Bougainville and Buka are part of the Solomon Islands archipelago, but are politically separate from the independent country of Solomon Islands. Historically the region was known as the North Solomons.
  Bougainville has been inhabited by humans for at least 29,000 years. During the colonial period the region was occupied and administered by the Germans, Australians, Japanese, and Americans for various periods.
context_section_description: The Bougainville conflict ended in 1997, after negotiations brokered by New Zealand. A peace agreement was completed in 2000 and, together with disarmament, provided for the establishment of an Autonomous Bougainville Government. The parties agreed to have a referendum in the future on whether the island should become politically independent.
  On 25 July 2005 rebel leader Francis Ona died after a short illness. A former surveyor with Bougainville Copper, Ona was a key figure in the secessionist conflict and had refused to formally join the island's peace process.
  In 2015 Australia announced it would establish a diplomatic post in Bougainville for the first time. In 2016, it cancelled those plans acknowledging that it had not obtained the PNG government's approval.
caption: HMAS Wewak unloading an Australian Army truck during Operation Bel Isi
exif: {}