MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 7, 2014) – Delegations from six countries, including the Philippines, have finished a 10-day workshop on “Dealing with the Past and Transitional Justice” in Switzerland.
The workshop provided an opportunity for the delegation from the Philippines to engage with renowned experts and to be exposed to international good practice and lessons learned in the field of transitional justice.
This year’s course included delegations from Colombia, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, and the Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo. The Philippines was the only Asian country invited to attend the July workshop.
The Embassy of Switzerland in Manila said the Philippines’ four person joint delegation was designated by the Aquino government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front peace panels, respectively, as members of the forthcoming Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) created by the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro by the Philippines and the MILF on October 15, 2012, as well as the Annex on Normalization signed on January 25 this year.
The future Swiss chair of the TJRC was also in attendance. The main function of the TJRC is to undertake a study and produce a set of recommendations on the appropriate mechanisms to address legitimate grievances of the Bangsamoro people, correct historical injustices, and address human rights violations and marginalization through land dispossession, towards healing and reconciliation.
The Philippine delegations were able to hold constructive in-depth discussions over several days about issues related to the mandate of the future TJRC of the Bangsamoro people.
“By engaging in a broad consultation process based on cooperation and dialogue, they believe they will be able to create a conducive environment for the development of a nationally owned report on transitional justice and reconciliation in the Philippines, particularly with regard to the armed conflict in Mindanao,” the Swiss embassy said.
The Advanced Learning Course on Dealing with the Past was offered by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs on an annual basis to a select group of senior government officials and representatives of civil society from different post-conflict contexts.
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