European Commission okays P65-M NGO grant for peace, progress in South

The European Commission has approved a grant of 1 million euros (approximately P65 million) to non-governmental organizations to help promote dialogue and confidence-building in Mindanao.

The P65-million grant is on top of the 2.5 million-euro (approximately P160 million) additional funding earmarked by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) last week to help address the plight of civilian victims of the conflict in Mindanao.

The new grant will finance three small projects to be implemented by the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, the Non-Violent Peace Force, and the Mindanao People’s Caucus.

The projects will be implemented over a period of up to 18 months, and will help build a broader constituency and momentum for peace among all stakeholders in the peace process, including local government units, civil society groups, faith-based organizations, the business sector and local communities.

Ambassador Alistair MacDonald, Head of Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines, said that this assistance is very timely, following the visit to Maguindanao last week of the EU Ambassadors in Manila, and confirming the EU’s strong support for the resumption of the peace process.

“Civil society has an essential role to play in helping support the peace process and build a broader momentum for peace,” MacDonald said. “And the EU is pleased to be able to work with these three NGOs in complementing the efforts of the government to strengthen dialogue, and to help build a climate of confidence in which peace can be rebuilt.”

MacDonald recalled the EU statement of Sept. 15, expressing the EU’s concern about the violence in Mindanao and the growing number of civilian casualties and displaced persons, condemning the indiscriminate killing of civilians, and calling for those responsible to face the due process of law.

The statement also underlined the EU’s strong belief that the conflict in Mindanao can only be resolved through dialogue, called upon all parties to show restraint and genuine respect for the rule of law, and urged the government and the MILF to agree to an early return to the negotiating table in order to seek a lasting solution to the conflict.

The Ambassador said that the EU visit to evacuation centers in Maguindanao had confirmed the imperative need for an end to the conflict, if the plight of the more than 300,000 internally-displaced persons was to be addressed.

He said that the P65 million in support for civil-society dialogue and confidence-building efforts is in addition to the 6.5 million euros in humanitarian assistance provided by the EC since August which is being channeled through WFP, ICRC, IOM and international NGOs such as Save the Children, Oxfam and Accion Contra el Hambre, and the 3 million euros in longer-term reintegration assistance provided through UNDP. Individual EU Member States have also been active in providing humanitarian assistance for the displaced persons.

The Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (CHD), the NGO involved in the implementation of projects to be funded by the P65-million grant, is an independent conflict-mediation organization based in Geneva and working in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.