Sulong CARHRIHL is a network that monitors the Government’s and the Maoist rebels' compliance with the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), which the two parties signed in 1998. The primary activities are education and advocacy. Sulong also hopes to support and sustain the peace process, and provide additional avenues for constructive dialogue, including Philippine civil society.
Women, peace and security in the Philippines
In order for a sustainable peace to be established it is important to involve and reflect the views of the whole of society. In the Philippiness, as in many other countries, women are often under-represented in peacebuilding activities and the formal architecture of peace negotiations.
We work at three levels to support increased participation of women in decision-making positions in relation to the peace processes:
- Peace negotiations: Conciliation Resources advises the panels and the facilitator on options for gender-responsive peace talks, ranging from the content of draft agreements to including more women at the negotiations themselves. In November 2011 we endorsed the participation of two women from the different negotiating parties to attend a training course in Oslo on Gender in disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR).
- Civil society: Conciliation Resources continually engages with civil society organisations on options for increasing the impact of their advocacy and actions. We have:
- conducted a ‘listening process’ to understand the sometimes different concerns and priorities of women in conflict-affected areas
- co-organised fora with resource persons from Northern Ireland and from Aceh (Indonesia) to learn from experiences elsewhere
- promoted learning through exchange visits with Colombia
- invited Muslim women from Mindanao to different dialogue platforms in Europe (Brussels and Barcelona)
- drafted a paper on Muslim Women in Peace Negotiations
- co-hosted activities with the network of Women Engaged in Action for 1325
- International level: Conciliation Resources is leading an initiative with the International Contact Group, the International Monitoring Team and other international agents in the Philippines to develop a common framework of commitment and action to respond to the UN Security Council resolutions and to the Philippine National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.
The Philippines and Colombia exchange visits
In 2011 the exchange project focused on the role of women in peace processes. Local partner organisations were Sulong CARHRIHL in the Philippines and CIASE in Colombia. Ten women from the Philippines, covering a diverse range of professional areas and responsibilities, visited Colombia in August and in October ten from Colombia visited the Philippines. In each country meetings were organised with those affected by the conflicts as well as with many individuals and organisations playing pecebuilding roles.
Rina David, a prominent columnist in the main daily newspaper in the Philippines, published a series of opinion articles on her visit to Colombia in August 2011, and during the visit of the Colombian delegates to the Philippines in October 2011:
- Peace, language and journalism
- Women's survival and the talks in Japan
- Churches, elections and mountains
- Lessons from the visit
- Pursuing peace
The colonel I travelled to Colombia with is now deployed close to my community. Whenever we have misunderstandings with the Armed Forces I just call him and we immediately settle differences.
Ednar Dayanghirang, indigenous leader of Mindanao and participant on a Philippines–Colombia exchange visit
