PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (MindaNews/01 April) – Peace advocates in Southeast Asia urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over the weekend to expand the mandate of its conflict resolution mechanism to include internal conflicts within its member states, among them the decades-old Moro rebellion in Mindanao.
Members of the Working Group on Peacebuilding of the 2012 ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN People’s Forum here issued the recommendation as they pressed for greater involvement from ASEAN in the resolution of various external and internal conflicts within the 10-nation regional bloc.
“It’s time for ASEAN to get involved by any means in solving the internal conflicts that presently affect four of its member-states,” peace advocate Carmen Gatmaytan, program manager of the Mindanao-based Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID), said in a press conference here.
She was referring to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebellion in Mindanao, the Malay-Muslim insurgency in Southern Thailand, the rebellion in Aceh, Indonesia and the Karachin rebellion in Myanmar.
Gatmaytan said ASEAN has established conflict resolution mechanisms, which is included in its two-year old Charter, but it only deals with external problems.
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They urged ASEAN to work on the immediate withdrawal of both countries’ troops from the disputed area.
The peacebuilding working group recommended a review of ASEAN’s dispute mechanism and its concept should be expanded to include the role of women.
They also asked ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) to include the protection and security of women and children in its work plan.
The group urged the ACWC to address the situation of women and children in armed conflict and attend to the reported gender and sexual violations in conflict situations, specifically the alleged cases that happened in Myanmar.
To help enhance peacebuilding the initiatives within ASEAN, Gatmaytan said they recommended the allocation of funds from the regional body to promote peacebuilding activities within the region.
She said they are eyeing the Jakarta-based ASEAN Foundation as possible conduit for such initiative.
