The price of peace and the cost of war

Her name was Sarah. While hiding behind a tree with her parents, she was hit and killed by stray bullets in an armed encounter. She was eight years old.

There is a cost of war that cannot be calculated in economic terms. It is the measure of human suffering. Since the end of the Cold War, the vast majority of armed conflicts have involved intra-state warfare with devastating results: A majority of civilian victims with long-term effects on public health and social welfare. Sadly, the cost of war is even higher in countries such as the Philippines, which already suffers a high incidence of poverty. This is especially true in Mindanao which has been the site of armed struggle for more than 40 years. Maguindanao, the setting of the current military offensive, is the country’s fourth poorest province. According to Oxfam, more than half of the population lives below the poverty line.

Unless one is living in an area affected by armed conflict, it is difficult to understand the cost of war. But what about the price of peace? Many have made the link between peace and development – and for obvious reasons. Poverty is a root cause of conflict and development programs are being created to address structural and institutional needs. Certainly, much progress has been made in this regard in the Philippines in recent years as indicated by sustained robust growth rates, repeated credit upgrades and notable improvements in a number of socio-economic indicators.

In the aftermath of the tragic events in Mamasapano, however, this logic can be called into question. The mounting criticism of the administration’s handling of the incident and the intensified scrutiny of the Bangsamoro Basic Law by members of Congress and the Senate have led to an impasse in the peace process. In this situation of heightened tension, the simple equation of peace and development will not suffice. A third element, namely that of security, needs to be added.

It is useful, in this regard, to call to mind the World Development Report issued by the World Bank in 2011. Comprehensively analyzing the intertwined relation between conflict, security, and development, the report addresses the challenges posed to developing countries by protracted conflict. It cautioned that once organized violence takes root in a society, restoring stability will become a generational challenge. The way to break the cycle of violence, according to the report, is to establish legitimate and effective institutions that promote stability and prosperity through the provision of human security, justice and economic opportunities.

This dimension, it appears, has been sidelined in the national debate since Mamasapano. A renewed focus on military operations will not bring peace and development to Mindanao. The Philippine government’s “Internal Peace and Security Plan Bayanihan” recognizes this. What critics of the peace process fail to see is that the institutional transformation and confidence building called for in the World Development Report is what the Bangsamoro Basic Law is in a position to offer to the Bangsamoro and to the nation at large. The BBL not only opens the way for a new beginning after a past marred by conflict and forgone opportunities. It also offers an early delivery of the tangible results necessary to move forward.

Tomorrow will see the first anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. The CAB is both a vision and a road map to peace in Mindanao. This is what the population in the conflict-affected areas is calling for. They and the untold number of civilian victims of the war have paid the price for peace.

Every victim deserves a name. Her full name was Sarah Pananggulon. She died on 25 January 2015 in her home community of Mamasapano.

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(Ivo Sieber is the Ambassador of Switzerland.)