![The Commonwealth Observer Group to the 2019 Bougainville Referendum was chaired by Anote Tong, former Prime Minister of Kiribati. Source: Commonwealth Secretariat / https://t.ly/VjGh0 The Commonwealth Observer Group to the 2019 Bougainville Referendum was chaired by Anote Tong, former Prime Minister of Kiribati. Source: Commonwealth Secretariat / https://t.ly/VjGh0](https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/bougainville-150x77.jpg)
The Bougainville Peace Agreement, signed in 2001, ended a major Pacific conflict and set terms for Bougainville's autonomy and a future independence referendum. Despite a 2019 vote strongly favoring independence, ongoing disputes have delayed progress, risking future tensions between Bougainville and Papua New Guinea.