Professional Documents
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Community-Based Protection Mechanisms Peace Review
Community-Based Protection Mechanisms Peace Review
Community-Based Protection Mechanisms Peace Review
Community-Based Protection
Mechanisms
Georgi Engelbrecht & Vidushi Kaushik
Accepted author version posted online: 23 Feb 2015.
Community-Based Protection
Mechanisms
The global burden of conflict in the last decade shows that non-combatants
are among the most affected populations in conflict zones, particularly in
cases of protracted, low-intensity armed conflicts. For humanitarian actors it
is thus crucial to increase the capacity of vulnerable populations by supporting
them with tools to recognize threats, reduce impact of violence, and mitigate
consequences of armed conflict.
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and its splinter group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).The region experiences significant presence of paramilitaries, private militias, and
criminal groups. Many localized conflicts, often concerning land entitlements,
are manifest in clan feuds called ridos, which are aggravated by an abundance of small arms and can draw in armed actors and provoke spirals of
violence. The cumulative effect of the conflicts have led to bitter divisions
within communities, widespread displacement, and deaths. The GPHMILF
conflict alone is said to have caused the death of 120,000 civilians. It has been
estimated that, in the last decade, approximately 40 percent of families in
Central Mindanao were displaced at least once, and in Maguindanao province
the figure rises to 82 percent.
Despite the ceasefire between GPH and MILF from 1997, violence was
witnessed in the years 2000 and 2003. August 2008 saw the most recent
large-scale fighting between the AFP and the MILF due to rejection of a proposed peace agreement by the Filipino Supreme Court. Hostilities displaced
750,000 people and while since then, smaller clashes and ceasefire violations are a periodic occurrence. From 2011 onwards, the GPHMILF Peace
Process has progressed following an unprecedented meeting between President Aquino and MILF Chairman Al-Haj Murad in Tokyo in August 2011.
In October 2012, the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) was
signed. It was followed by a number of agreements on specific issues and the
Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) was signed in March
2014. Currently, the Bangsamoro Basic Law is being deliberated in the
Congress and it would pave way for the Bangsamoro Transitional Authority
(BTA).
Most of the grievances voiced out against the GPHMILF peace talks
come from armed groups left out of the process, and apart from the protracted
armed conflict, there are other factors that derail the arrival of normalcy.
Central Mindanao is exposed to communal violence between the Christian
and Muslim communities grounded in a political culture whereby political
elites exert their domination through private militias that operate with (quasi)
impunity. Clan members compete with each other, primarily through processes
of elections and everyday exercise of political power and arms. Ridos, a regular
cause of violence, insecurity, and displacement in Mindanao, draw in actors
from multitude of backgrounds, including armed groups. In addition, rogue
lost commands from non-state armed groups create a pervading sense of
insecurity as the lines between conflict, politics, criminality, and shadow
economy blur. This contributes to heightened militarization in Maguindanao.
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of course the real life situations are very complex and the case scenarios are
only indicative of such a context.
nother approach to UCP in Maguindanao was the Zone-of-Peace initiative. In the following, an example will clarify this approach. Marred
by conflict during the early 1970s and ever since, the city of Datu Piang in
the province of Maguindanao, although corroded of its luster, still remains in
the imagination of the population as an important historical site. The proximity of villages in the municipality to the marsh as well as the mountains
makes these areas suitable for presence of armed actors, criminal syndicates,
and lawless groups, serving as safe havens for them during volatile times.
Although the armed conflict between the government and MILF has subsided
since 2009, the area has been the stage to several clan feuds damaging property and displacing civilians. Moreover, the splinter-group BIFF, which had
opposed the peace agreement, initiated waves of attack on military detachments since August 2012. Skirmishes and clashes have led to considerable
civilian displacement and a general feeling of insecurity in areas controlled
by the BIFF.
In that time, NP Philippines was approached by community-based organizations to facilitate an initiative that would mitigate violence, provide safe
spaces for civilians and non-combatants, and facilitate return of displaced
population. The concept of Dar-Us-Salam (house of peace), a genuine
zone of peace, was the leitmotif to work on that initiative, something that
had been previously established in Mindanao in the 1990s. In order to get the
peace zone in place the field team initiated a series of consultations with its
community monitors, local NGOs, MILF, Local Government Units, and the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to ensure inclusivity and acceptance.
The first round of consultations with the main partner organization resulted in an unanimous decision of marking spaces such as the madrassa,
primary health units, and primary and secondary schools as peace zones.
In order to capture the expectations of the residents from affected barangays
(village settlements) as well as to involve them in the process, NP with its
local partners then conducted a second series of community consultations.
These consultations let the team fathom the needs and expectations of the
residents and collect grievances related to security and livelihood.
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rounded from field work over a year and a half in the Southern Philippines, the essay proposes three spheres of influence through which UCP
is effective: first is enabling communities to respond to incidents of violence.
EWER trainings are the most effective tools that enable communities to respond to incidents of violence. Through consistent engagement and identifying of community monitors, the community members are constantly engaged
with local combatants on issues concerning potential upsurge of violence. A
successful indicator of such an activity can be illustrated by NPs learning
during the July 6, 2013 military operation against one of the factionsBIFF.
Before the military action was conducted, both the military commanders and
the community monitors were duly informed about the operation, leading to
timely evacuation of civilians to safer spaces.
NP focused on the role of women in EWER and added a module on
election-related violence. While not directly monitoring the elections, local
partners and grassroots monitors could nevertheless grasp and analyze the
situation on the ground, informing NP of any significant incidents. A major
step for this capacity-building was NPs partnership with the Maguindanao
Peace Advocates (MPA), a coalition of local organizations monitoring safe
and fair municipal elections. NP capicitated members of the MPA on EWER
and its use for election-related violencea prevalant reality in the province.
A second sphere of influence involves building community resilience
and local peacebuilding potentials. Apart from the analytically clear EWER
interventions, there are instances that primarily target communities in conflict, yet ultimately help to create local space for follow-up peacebuilding
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activities. The Zone of Peace started as an effort to strengthen the local partners in vulnerable villages through regular engagement in the community.
Subsequent community-driven work was supported by various peacebuilding
activities in the form of linking the local partners and community leaders with
stakeholders from the army, LGUs and MILF Base Commands. The drafting of the MoU and Code of Conduct led to a healthy discussion between
actors on sensitive topics such as disarmament and finding local solutions
to dangers of arms proliferation. These linkages play a strong role in building mutual trust between actors potentially engaging in future peacebuilding
activities.
The third sphere looks at creating future space for peacebuilding. Regular capacity-building on the themes of human rights/humanitarian law raises
awareness of the primary parties to the conflict and can further move these
actors to comprehend rule of law. Thus, in cases of violations it will
be possible to report those to the armed actors concerned and enable a
response to be made to the situation. The series of trainings conducted
within the province led to emergence of community leaders who subsequently took the lead in negotiating with conflict stakeholders. Examples
of that approach are the orientations on human rights to AFP and MILF,
which have created a comfortable space for dialogue, knowledge of relevant
norms, and linkages between these actors and local civil society or community
leaders.
n the context of Mindanao, UCP is a diverse set of methods to civilian protection that derives its strength from community-led interventions.
We consider UCP as a contextualized toolkit of components whose primary focus is to strengthen local capacities in prevention of conflict from
the grassroots and creation of space for future peacebuilding activities. The
case studies highlight the potential UCP has as a program strategy for both
peacekeeping and peacebuilding initiatives incorporating a participatory approach moving beyond the conventional track one diplomacy efforts in conflict
situations.
RECOMMENDED READINGS
Berghof Foundation. 2009. Berghof Glossary on Conflict Transformation. 20 Notions for
Theory and Practice, Chapter 10: Peace Peacebuilding, Peacemaking. Beatrix Austin,
Hans J. Giessmann, and Uli Jager (Eds.). 5964.
Gordon, Stuart. 2013. The Protection of Civilians: An Evolving Paradigm? Stability: International Journal of Security and Development 2(2): 40.
Magno Torres III, Wilfredo. 2007. Rido: Clan Feuding and Conflict Management in Mindanao.
San Francisco: The Asia Foundation.
McCoy, Alfred. 2009. An Anarchy of Families: State and Family in the Philippines. Madison,
WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
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Schiavo-Campo, Salvatore and Mary Judd. 2005. The Mindanao Conflict in the Philippines:
Roots, Costs, and Potential Peace Dividend. Paper No. 24. Social Development Papers
(Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction). Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Schweitzer, Christine. 2010. Introducing Civilian PeacekeepingA Barely Tapped Resource.
Washington, DC: Institute of Peace Work and Nonviolent Conflict Transformation.
World Bank/World Food Programme. 2012. Violent Conflicts and Displacement in Central
Mindanao; Challenges for Recovery and Development Rome: World Food Programme.
Georgi Engelbrecht and Vidushi Kaushik worked in Central Mindanao, Philippines with Nonviolent
Peaceforce, Philippines. The organization is rooted in principles of unarmed civilian peacekeeping. While
Georgi has a background in international relations and human rights, Vidushi comes from an interdisciplinary background of emergencies, conflict, and peace. E-mail: georgi.engelbrecht@gmail.com and
vidushi.kaushik23@gmail.com