A viable alternative in the making in Mindanao
Key stakeholders in the Mindanao Peace Processes have acknowledged that unarmed civilian peacekeeping is an improvement in monitoring and consolidating the ceasefire mechanism structures.
The statements of support came during one of the most important events in NP history as unarmed civilian peacekeeping and the work of NP was highlighted in two workshops in the Philippines in August.
As efforts are being made to restart the stalled peace talks and reinvent the Ceasefire Mechanism structure between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), inclusion of the protection of non-combatants in the Ceasefire Mechanism is being seriously considered.
Sponsored by the Institute for Autonomy and Governance, Notre Dame University of Cotabato, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Office of the Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process (for Manila), and NP, the workshops featured presentations by several NP staff members. Participants included military officers, government officials, UN agency reps, various embassies, civil society and religious groups as well as the MILF as an observer.
Our work no longer lingers in the realm of ideals. Soldiers, policymakers, and diplomats alike are recognizing it as an essential ingredient in creating peace.
