UNITED STates institute of peace

peaceBrieF91
United States Institute of Peace • www.usip.org • Tel. 202.457.1700 • Fax. 202.429.6063 April 28, 2011

Claudia Hofmann Peace Negotiations in the Philippines:

E-mail: [email protected]
The Government, the MILF and
International NGOs
Phone: 202.429.3867

Summary
• In many peace negotiations International Contact Groups have been a helpful tool in prevent-
ing a peace process from stalling or failing. Members, commonly states and international
organizations, exert leverage on the parties to the conflict, sustain the parties’ commitment to
a peaceful resolution of the conflict and restore mutual trust.
• While international nongovernmental organizations have been overlooked in this context,
they may expedite problem-solving by contributing through their networks within civil soci-
ety, their experience from similar peace processes in different countries, and their perceived
independence from the parties to conflict. With the assistance of international nongovern-

“
mental organizations a peace process may lead to a higher degree of efficiency and legitimacy
[T]he ability of many civil in delivering sustainable results.
society organizations to main- • The recent negotiations between the government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic
tain a balanced position in the Liberation Front use this potential and incorporate four nongovernmental organizations to an
conflict and to present per- unprecedented degree as part of an International Contact Group. This Peace Brief illustrates
their innovative methods and capacities during this ongoing negotiation process.
spectives often independent
• The next round of negotiations is scheduled for April 27 and 28, 2011.
from the dominating religious
and geographic fault lines
has placed NGOs as a source Introduction
of information unbeholden On February 9 and 10 of this year, the government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Libera-
to either the government’s tion Front (MILF) entered a new round of peace negotiations in an attempt to end a conflict that
has been disrupting the country for more than three decades. The resumption of formal talks in
or the MILF’s interests. In this
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ended a deadlock that begun in August 2008, when the Supreme Court
way, NGOs have helped to of the Philippines issued a temporary restraining order against the signing of the Memorandum
minimize misunderstandings of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the government and the MILF, which
between the parties to conflict would have increased the control of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).1 The

”
decision was followed by MILF attacks against Christian communities in Central Mindanao and
and to prevent escalations.
counterattacks by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). As part of the latest negotiations, the
two Negotiating Peace Panels – representatives of the government and the MILF, respectively—are
joined for the first time by an International Contact Group (ICG), which is intended to serve as a
guarantor of the negotiations. The ICG formalizes the engagement of four third-party governments

© USIP 2011 • All rights reserved.

Peace Negotiations in the Philippines: The Government, the MILF
and International NGOs page 2 • PB 91 • April 28, 2011

and four international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) in the peace process. It thus opens
a national peace process to external actors to an unprecedented extent, enabling them to “exert
proper leverage” over the negotiating parties in order to sustain interest in the negotiations and
build consensus among the parties.2 With the help of the ICG, the current negotiations between the
government and the MILF show promise for moving forward more efficiently and to deliver more
sustainable results than the previous rounds.

The International Contact Group in the Philippines

The agreement on the participation of the ICG was signed by the Peace Panel Chairmen, Rafael
E. Seguis for the government and Mohagher Iqbal for the MILF, as well as the Malaysian Govern-
ment Facilitator, Datuk Othman Bin Abdul Razak, on September 15, 2009. After the breakdown
of the peace talks in 2008, MILF Chairman Alhaj Murad Ebrahim had declared the need for an
“international guarantee from states or association of nations” as one of the conditions for the
resumption of the peace talks in order to overcome the trauma of the “botched” MOA-AD.3 The
agreement establishes the ICG as an ad hoc and issue specific instrument with the mandate to
attend and observe the negotiations, visit and advise the parties to conflict (potentially with the
assistance of recognized experts), and meet with the parties upon request to resolve outstanding
issues.4 The consultation of the ICG is coordinated through the Malaysian facilitator. The agreement
further expresses a preference for the inclusion of countries from the Organization of Islamic
Conference (OIC) and the European Union (EU), and accredited INGOs as agreed upon and invited
by the parties in consultation with the facilitator. So far, the parties to the conflict have invited
representatives of the United Kingdom, Turkey, Japan and Saudi Arabia to join the process, as well
as representatives of The Asia Foundation (an INGO active primarily in the Asia-Pacific region),
the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (an organization conducting mediations and mediation
support), Conciliation Resources (an INGO focused on local peacebuilding), and Muhammadiyah
(an international Islamic NGO), based on their previous activities in the country. The INGOs in
particular along with their local NGO partners are expected to act as a bridge between the peace
process and local civil society.

Why INGOs?
The creation of the ICG is a direct result of the engagement of a number of local and international
NGOs with civil society in the Philippines. The Philippines provide a distinct environment for local
as well as international nongovernmental organizations because of the extensive access they have
carved for themselves in conflict management. For example, in the early 1990s, a systematic grass-
roots consultation undertaken by the then administration of Fidel Ramos was intended to arrive
at representative positions on all ongoing peace negotiations in the country. It signaled to NGOs
especially the need for increased dialogue not only between the government and the rebel groups
but also with civil society.5 Since then, an ever increasing number of NGOs, and eventually INGOs,
have become involved in different conflict management activities. This has enhanced a “culture of
consultation” that now penetrates even the level of policy elites and officials in the government and
the insurgent groups. In this context, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) was involved in the
Philippines through its Philippine Facilitation Project (PFP), which ran between 2003 and 2007.6
The number of local civil society organizations and particularly NGOs in the Philippines engag-
ing in conflict-related activities is uncountable. Although their engagement is estimated to have
had little effect on the official peace talks, their influence on the broader peace process, however,
has been significant.7 Civil society organizations have repeatedly maintained pressure on the

© USIP 2011 • All rights reserved.

Peace Negotiations in the Philippines: The Government, the MILF
and International NGOs page 3 • PB 91 • April 28, 2011

parties, especially when the peace talks were stalled or temporarily discontinued. Particularly
during these stages, civil society was deeply involved in ceasefire and human rights monitoring,
in an attempt to minimize the repercussions of violent conflict on the civilian population and to
sustain pressure on the parties to conflict to work towards a peaceful resolution. For instance,
Local Monitoring Teams (LMTs) combine a representative of the local government unit, one from
the MILF, two NGO representatives (one nominated by the government, one nominated by the
MILF), and a religious leader mutually agreed upon by both parties.8 They monitor the ceasefire
arrangements of the 2001 peace agreement at the provincial level. Bantay Ceasefire—a network
of civilian volunteers who monitor and report ceasefire violations—joined this effort in 2003.
However, unlike the LMTs, the purely civilian Bantay Ceasefire has no constraints in making their
findings publicly available. In the most recent example, the government and the MILF agreed
in May 2010 to an addition to the International Monitoring Team (IMT), initially composed of
Malaysia, Brunei, Libya and Japan, by including a Civilian Protection Component (CPC).9 The CPC
consists of civil society organizations which have been charged with monitoring the safety and
security of civilian communities in conflict areas as well as the commitments of the parties to
conflict under international humanitarian and human rights law.
International NGOs, meanwhile, have attempted to push the peace process and generate
avenues out of deadlocks. For instance between 2005 and 2007, Conciliation Resources (CR)
has held talks between the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) and the
negotiation panel of the MILF, particularly on the reframing of issues. In July and October 2009,
CR organized visits of representatives of the MILF and OPAPP to Belfast and London to exchange
experiences with individuals involved in the peace process in Northern Ireland. Similarly, the
Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, in 2008, introduced constitutional and international law experts
to the peace process after the temporary restraining order halted the signing of the MOA-AD to
assist in managing this legal crisis. It also organized a visit of two senior negotiators in the North-
ern Ireland talks and other experts with experiences in peace processes to the Philippines to help
in finding a way out of deadlock.10 Geneva Call has engaged the MILF with regard to their use of
anti-personnel landmines. As a result, the MILF signed a Deed of Commitment in March 2000 ban-
ning the use of landmines as a weapon of combat and committing itself to the provisions of the
Geneva Conventions.11 Finally, International Alert has supported the Philippine Business for Social
Progress to work on the private sector’s role in conflict management, and The Asia Foundation has
supported academic institutions and NGOs throughout Mindanao to create options for a political
resolution of the conflicts.12
The practical engagement of many local and international NGOs in the Philippines has enabled
civil society organizations to gather a degree of respectability that allows them to make a direct
contribution to the peace process. Particularly their work as watchdogs over ceasefire and peace
agreements between the government of the Philippines and the MILF has contributed greatly to
mitigating numerous situations.13 The involvement of organizations such as Bantay Ceasefire in
examining accusations of ceasefire violations has increased the flow of information between the
parties to the conflict. Moreover, the ability of many civil society organizations to maintain a bal-
anced position in the conflict and to present perspectives often independent from the dominating
religious and geographic fault lines has placed NGOs as a source of information unbeholden to
either the government’s or the MILF’s interests. In this way, NGOs have helped to minimize misun-
derstandings between the parties to conflict and to prevent escalations. Their constant pressure
on both the government and the MILF in support of a peaceful solution to the conflict and arguing
the futility of military solutions has pushed both sides repeatedly towards negotiations. Their
formalized inclusion into the peace process in the form of the International Contact Group is the
current culmination of their commitment.

© USIP 2011 • All rights reserved.

Peace Negotiations in the Philippines: The Government, the MILF
and International NGOs page 4 • PB 91 • April 28, 2011

Implications
The degree of NGO involvement in the Philippines reflects a culture of widespread civil society
engagement in conflict management that is unique in many respects. The number of NGOs in the
country as well as their incorporation into the peace process by the government and the MILF are
unusual. This is true for local as well as international nongovernmental organizations. However,
the impact of these organizations through their involvement in the International Contact Group
is substantial. The formal participation of INGOs along with their named local NGO partners in the
ICG allows for the inclusion of perspectives that reflect broader issues than those of the two parties
to conflict alone. Thereby, a process affected by distrust and strategic maneuvering after the failure
of the MOA-AD can be brought into focus by introducing new perspectives on ways forward.
Through consultations with both parties, INGOs are able to express opinions, make recommenda-
tions, and offer feedback on concrete proposals. They contribute knowledge on the demands
from civil society from their in-country work with their local partners, insights into the interests of
other stakeholders (such as elected landowners affected by a prospective agreement on ancestral
domain), legal advice from experts (for instance on the constitutionality of an agreement), as well
as experience and networks from other countries that may benefit efficient problem-solving. The
process thus becomes more rooted in society and more focused on the underlying causes of the
conflict and obstacles to peace rather than on the short-term interests of the parties to conflict,
which increases the process’ legitimacy, its sustainability and its efficiency.
After the first round of negotiations in February 2011, which resulted in a renewed mandate
from the parties for the International Monitoring Team, the parties agreed to “fast track the peace
process”.14 While it is near impossible to ascertain how often the ICG is being consulted by the
parties to conflict due to the need for confidentiality during the negotiation process and to what
extent its recommendations enter the process, its existence and the possibilities it offers to relieve
a potential deadlock may make a decisive difference in the negotiations. Generally, the effects of
the International Contact Group in the peace process appear to be conducive to an imminent end
of the conflict, but these effects must be traced carefully.

Endnotes
1. The Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao covers the country’s predominantly Muslim
provinces on the Mindanao mainland and the Sulu Archipelago (Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Magu-
indanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Marawi). The first elections on September 9, 1996 established Nur
Misuari as Regional Governor. After the Supreme Court entered the temporary restraining order,
the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) was later declared unconsti-
tutional on October 14, 2008 on the grounds that the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity
would have required amending the 1987 Constitution. GMANEWS.TV (2008), “SC justice cites MoA
provisions ‘unconstitutional’”, GMA News, at http://www.gmanews.tv/story/114115/SC-justice-cites-
MoA-provisions-unconstitutional (accessed on June 1, 2010).
2. Framework Agreement on the Formation of the International Contact Group for the GRP-MILF
Peace Process (September 15, 2009), Section 1.
3. Edwin Fernandez. “MILF sets terms for resumption of talks,” Inquirer.net, December 30, 2008,
at http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20081230-180653/MILF-sets-terms-for-
resumption-of-talks (accessed on March 9, 2011).

© USIP 2011 • All rights reserved.

 Peace Negotiations in the Philippines: The Government, the MILF
and International NGOs page 5 • PB 91 • April 28, 2011

About This Brief 4. Framework Agreement on the Formation of the International Contact Group for the GRP-MILF
Peace Process (September 15, 2009), op. Cit., Section 3.
The MILF stands for a radical
Islamic revivalist viewpoint and 5. Steven Rood. “Forging Sustainable Peace in Mindanao: The Role of Civil Society”, Policy Studies
seeks self-determination for the 17, Washington: East-West Center, 2005, p.22.
traditionally Muslim Bangsamoro
6. See G. Eugene Martin and Astrid S. Tuminez. “Toward Peace in the Southern Philippines. A
people in the southern parts of the
Philippines. The MILF was founded Summary and Assessment of the USIP Philippine Facilitation Project, 2003–2007”, Special Report 202,
after its split from the Moro 2008, at http://www.usip.org/files/resources/sr202.pdf (accessed on April 4, 2011). Most recently,
National Liberation Front (MNLF) USIP co-organized an International Islamic Peace Education Workshop in Davao City in July 2010.
in 1977. Negotiations between the
7. Steven Rood, op. Cit., 2005, p. 27.
government of the Philippines and
the MILF began in January 1997 8. The Local Monitoring Teams were established by the 2001 Tripoli Agreement of Peace.
but have been interrupted repeat-
9. These four countries monitor the security and socioeconomic agreements between the govern-
edly. This Peace Brief seeks to
shed light on the recent approach ment and the MILF.
the parties to conflict have chosen 10. Among them are Jonathan Powell (Chief of Staff to former Prime Minister Tony Blair), Gerry
to overcome the difficulties that Kelly (member of Sinn Fein and currently Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly), Dr. Ali Ahmed
have foiled peace negotiations in
Sabiel (former adviser to the government of Sudan during the peace negotiations on South Sudan),
the past.
Nyasha Masiwa (former liberation fighter from Zimbabwe, adviser to the Sudan People’s Liberation
The author, Claudia Hofmann, is a Army), Kelvin Ong (head of the United Nations Mediation Support Unit), and Ambassador Francesc
Jennings Randolph TAPIR fellow Vendrell (former United Nations Secretary-General’s Personal Representative and European Special
at the United States Institute
Representative).
of Peace (USIP). This work was
supported by a fellowship of the 11. The MILF reaffirmed its obligations under the Deed in 2002. Geneva Call was able to conduct a
German Academic Exchange verification mission in November 2009.
Service (DAAD).
12. Steven Rood. op. Cit., 2005, p. 15-16.
13. One example among many is the most recent involvement of the international NGO Geneva
Call in 2008. During an upsurge in the conflict, new allegations of landmine use were made by the
government of the Philippines against the MILF. A verification mission by Geneva Call—supported
by Eric David, an International Law Professor at Brussels University and member of the International
Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission, and Phil Halford, a mines specialist from the Mines Advisory
Group—was carried out in November 2009 to shed light on the events. Although the time lapse
between the accusations and the mission made verification more difficult, independent reports
from David and Halford prevented further politicized speculation on the incidents.
14. Maria Patrikainen.“MILF Agree to Fast-Track Peace Process After Successful Meeting,” Global
Insight, February 11, 2011.

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