CEBU CITY, 23 March 2015 – The ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR) held a workshop to strengthen women’s participation in peace processes and conflict resolution in Cebu City, Philippines on 18-19 March. The workshop aimed to highlight the level of women’s participation in peace processes and conflict resolution in the region and raise awareness on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and existing National Action Plans on Women, Peace and Security.
The event was organized by the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to ASEAN headed by Ambassador Elizabeth P. Buensuceso, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to ASEAN and member of the AIPR Governing Council. Members of the AIPR Governing Council, Ambassadors of ASEAN Member States to ASEAN, Ambassadors of Japan and Norway to ASEAN, the ASEAN Secretariat and representatives from all ASEAN Member States as well as Philippine Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs and ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) Leader Evan P. Garcia attended the event.
Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles, Philippine Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and Member of the AIPR Advisory Board graced the workshop. Speaking to the participants, she appealed “for your support to call upon your leaders, be they in government or in the private realm – and all your great communities for that matter – to stand for our dream of the Bangsamoro.” Last year, the Government of the Philippines signed a peace deal that will establish Bangsamoro, an autonomous political entity of Muslim communities in southern Philippines, among others.
In her keynote address, Secretary Deles emphasized that “the voice of ASEAN has always been important for all generations of Filipinos. This is true whether we speak of human progress or human security. ASEAN has been the repository of our most ardent aspirations forged in deep commonalities of culture, identity, and ways of transformation.”
At the end of the two-day workshop, participants recommended the following: (1) AIPR should continue to provide a platform to discuss women’s participation in peace processes and conflict resolution; (2) AIPR should organize trainings and workshops for women to become peace mediators; (3) AIPR should consider organizing an ASEAN network of women on peace and security, including a pool of experts on peace mediation; and (4) AIPR should consider establishing a “knowledge hub” of resources related to peace.
The meeting expressed support to the peace process of the Philippines with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The workshop also raised the possibility of AIPR establishing a closer link with UN Women, which is in line with the implementation of the ASEAN-UN Plan of Action to strengthen ASEAN-UN relations.
Speakers and presenters included peace practitioners from ASEAN, Norway, Australia and the UN, sharing their experiences and unique points of view as peace negotiators, mediators, facilitators, peace researchers and peace activists.
Before the workshop, the 4th AIPR Governing Council Meeting was also held in Cebu City on 17 March. The AIPR Governing Council is expected to discuss the recommendations of the workshop at its next meeting within the year. The workshop was supported by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund 2.0 (JAIF 2.0) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway.