The European Union: A force for peace

The first time I visited Mindanao was back in 1992 when I monitored a rural development project funded by the European Union. At the time I was the EU desk officer for the Philippines. While the aim of the project was to reduce poverty, the region of Mindanao was selected because it was clear that poverty was one of the major elements contributing to the political conflict between the Philippines government and Muslim rebel movements. The hope was that reducing poverty would progressively reduce violence so that the existing differences could be resolved peacefully. While foreign aid poured into Mindanao for many years, it did not dent the level of poverty and the conflict went through many phases of open military action and periods of negotiation.

Whether during periods of conflict when the EU provided assistance to internally displaced people or during periods of negotiation when funding concentrated on poverty alleviation, the EU contributed around P10 billion to support peace in Mindanao. In 2010, the Philippine government and the MILF invited the EU to join the International Monitoring Team (IMT), one of the major structures supporting the Peace Process. EU monitors and NGO partners contributed to progressively improve the climate of confidence between the parties. On the ground, the dialogue between the Philippine Armed Forces and the MILF enabled a reduction in the number of incidents. The UK, an EU member State, and two NGOs supported by the EU became part of the International Contact Group. At the same time, the EU brought to the Philippines various experts who could share their experience in Peace building. To name a few: Mr. Kelly (Peace negotiator in Northern Ireland), Mr. Vendrell (former head of the UN Special Mission to Afghanistan) and Mr. Yash Pal Ghai (prominent expert on constitutional law). It is this combination of tools that the European Union calls “the comprehensive approach.”

The signing of the fourth annex to the Framework Agreement on 25 January was welcomed by Mrs. Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Her message called for an inclusive process. While progress is being made on the road to Peace, the EU continues to adapt its support to the new up-coming challenges: To ensure inclusiveness, support is provided for stakeholder consultation in the drafting of the basic law, further demining of former conflict areas will take place and more livelihood projects for local communities will be financed.

Europe has had more than its fair share of conflicts with ethnic and religious undertones. The European project was conceived to put them to rest. Having learnt our lessons the hard way, today we consider it part of our mission to be a force for peace in the world. In Aceh we demonstrated our capacity to successfully contribute to Peace. Today we have the honour to also play our part as a catalyst for lasting peace in the Philippines.

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(Guy Ledoux is the Ambassador of the European Union.)