Helping Break Down Barriers to Inspire Peace Building in Mindanao
The Duyog Mindanao campaign was envisioned “to continue to develop a broad national and international constituency for the right to self-determination of peoples and for a just and durable peace in Mindanao. It broadly aims to build solidarity and constituency for peace in Mindanao by strengthening civil society’s capacity to assert their rights and sovereignty. It hopes to mobilize support groups from various sectors in Luzon and Visayas, Christian settlers in Mindanao, as well as national and international civil society groups.”
The specific objectives are:
- Generate national and international solidarity support to the concrete campaigns and actions of grassroots organizations and communities among the Bangsamoro and Lumads in Mindanao to assert their human rights and their sovereign will;
- Help sustain the campaign for the peace negotiations among warring parties in Mindanao; to sustain the campaign for the observance of human rights and humanitarian law and for the protection of civilians in times and in areas of armed conflicts;
- Generate popular awareness and broad support for the Mindanao People’s Peace Agenda (MPPA) as a comprehensive and substantive people’s agenda for just and lasting peace in Mindanao; mobilize the direct and frontline peace stakeholders in the island to assert the MPPA as their own campaign, electoral and peace issues and agenda;
- Extract concrete commitments from concerned local and national government officials for policy changes that will address the root causes of conflicts and unrest in Mindanao and will pave the way for a just and durable peace in the island; to generate pledges and commitments from the candidates in the 2010 elections in support of the MPPA and for a just resolution of war and conflicts in Mindanao;
- Facilitate continuing dialogue and exchanges between and among the peoples of Mindanao; and between Mindanaoans and non-Mindanaoans from Luzon and Visayas in relation to the overarching issues of lasting peace, human rights and development in Mindanao; to sustain the national and international solidarity support of various Duyog Mindanao 2008 stakeholders and participants.
The Caravan for Peace and Solidarity in Mindanao in 2008, Duyog Mindanao’s first campaign, showed the ability of Filipinos outside Mindanao to triumph over the prejudices generated through years of misinformation and ignorance. The solidarity it generated for Mindanao inspired those directly affected by the armed conflict to persevere in the struggle for peace.
