Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in the Melanesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. This page is about the history of the nation state rather than the broader geographical area of the Solomon Islands archipelago, which covers both Solomon Islands and Bougainville Island, a province of Papua New Guinea. For the history of the archipelago not covered here refer to the former administration of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, the North Solomon Islands and the History of Bougainville.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was a court-like restorative justice body assembled in South Africa in 1996 after the end of apartheid. Authorised by Nelson Mandela and chaired by Desmond Tutu, the commission invited witnesses who were identified as victims of gross human rights violations to give statements about their experiences, and selected some for public hearings. Perpetrators of violence could also give testimony and request amnesty from both civil and criminal prosecution.
Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons, is a country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, to the northeast of Australia. It is directly adjacent to Papua New Guinea to the northwest, Australia to the southwest, New Caledonia and Vanuatu to the southeast, Fiji, Wallis and Futuna, and Tuvalu to the east, and Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia to the north. It has a total area of 30,407 square kilometres, and a population of 734,887 according to the official estimates for mid 2023. Its capital, Honiara, is located on the largest island, Guadalcanal. The country takes its name from the wider area of the Solomon Islands archipelago, which is a collection of Melanesian islands that also includes the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, but excludes the Santa Cruz Islands.
The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), also known as Operation Helpem Fren, Operation Anode and Operation Rata, was created in 2003 in response to a request for international aid by the Governor-General of Solomon Islands. Helpem Fren means "help a friend" in Solomon Islands Pidgin. The mission officially ended on 30 June 2017.
The Solomon Islands Democratic Party is a political party in Solomon Islands. In a country in which political parties tend to be small and transient, and to obtain very few seats in Parliament, the Democratic Party has played a comparatively major role in recent history.
David Derek Sikua served as the prime minister of Solomon Islands from 20 December 2007 to 25 August 2010. He is a member of the Solomon Islands Liberal Party.
William Ni'i Haomaepia is a politician of the Solomon Islands who has been Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade since December 2007. He has served in the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands since 1993 as MP for Small Malaita.
A Human Being Died That Night is a 2003 book by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Solomon Islands:
Steve William Abana is a Solomon Islands politician. He is a former Member of Parliament for Fataleka and was the Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition from August 2010 to March 2011.
Shemuel Sam Iduri is a Solomon Islands politician.
Jimmy Lusibaea, also known as Jimmy "Rasta", is a Solomon Islands politician.
Andrew Nori was a Solomon Islands lawyer and politician, arguably best known for his role in the ethnic conflict on Guadalcanal in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
John Garo was a Solomon Islands politician.
The Truth And Reconciliation Commission Act 2008 is an Act of the eighth National Parliament of Solomon Islands establishing the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Charles Dausabea was a Solomon Islands politician.
The Truth and Justice Commission of Mauritius was an independent truth commission established in 2009, which explored the impact of slavery and indentured servitude in Mauritius. The Commission was tasked to investigate the dispossession of land, and “determine appropriate measures to be extended to descendants of slaves and indentured laborers.” It was “unique in that it [dealt] with socio-economic class abuses" and explored the possibility of reparations. The inclusion of reparations, whether for individuals or communities, was a controversial decision within the country which aimed to correct inequality. The Commission attempted to cover more than 370 years, the longest period of time that a truth commission has ever covered.
Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a truth and reconciliation commission established by President Alejandro Toledo to investigate the human rights abuses committed during the internal conflict in Peru between 1980s and 1990s. The TRC was a response to the violent internal conflict between 1980 and 2000 during the administration of Presidents Fernando Belaúnde (1980–1985), Alan García (1985–1990), and Alberto Fujimori (1990–2000). The commission's mandate was to provide a record of human rights and international humanitarian law violations committed in Peru between May 1980 and November 2000, as well as recommend mechanisms to promote and strengthen human rights. The TRC reported on the estimated 70 000 deaths, assassinations, torture, disappearances, displacement, employment of terrorist methods and other human rights violations executed by the State, Shining Path, and the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. The report concluded that there is both institutional and individual accountability, as well as identifying racial and cultural factors that became a catalyst for conflict.
On 5 June 2000, a coup d'état occurred in Solomon Islands, in the capital of Honiara, in which the prime minister, Bartholomew Ulufa’alu, was taken hostage by militants of the Malaita Eagle Force. The event came as a result of longstanding ethnic tensions between the province that saw a rise in armed political groups from the late 1990s.
Solomon Islands no longer has official diplomatic ties with Taiwan (ROC) due to the One-China policy since 2020.
