South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu arrived in the Solomon Islands capital on Tuesday to launch a truth and reconciliation commission aimed at easing lingering ethnic tensions.

Over 100 people died and an estimated 20 000 were displaced in the tensions that flared between 1997 and 2003 in the South Pacific archipelago.

Tutu, a Nobel Peace laureate and South African anti-apartheid hero, received a traditional welcome from dancing warriors at the airport, and told reporters he was confident peace and reconciliation would return to the nation.

"In our own country, South Africa, many people did not believe we could have real peace," Tutu said. "If it can happen to us, it can definitely happen here ? no, it will happen here."

The unrest in the Solomon Islands was centred on the island of Guadalcanal in a conflict between indigenous militants and rivals originally from the neighbouring island of Malaita.

Violence on the islands ended in 2003 with the arrival of the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), although tensions remain unresolved.

Solomons' Prime Minister Derek Sikua said the new commission was key to achieving peace and unity. It is modelled on South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which the 77-year-old Tutu headed.

The commission, which will be officially launched by Tutu Wednesday, will operate for a year with provisions to extend it for another year if necessary.