DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 17 February) – The United Nations (UN) has assured the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) of its continued support for peace and development initiatives in the region.
Arnaud Peral, UN Resident Coordinator in the Philippines, made the assurance during last week’s 5th Bangsamoro International Development Partners Forum (BIDPF) here, which gathered at least 200 officials and representatives of major international, national and regional institutions working to improve BARMM’s sustainable development.
“The United Nations system remains deeply committed to BARMM,” he said during the forum themed “From Promise to Prosperity: Celebrating Gains, Accelerating BARMM’s Transformation Through Strategic Partnerships.”
He stressed that at least 18 UN organizations are present in the Bangsamoro region, which comprises the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Marawi, Lamitan and Cotabato, the seat of the BARMM government.
Established in 2019, the BARMM is in a transition period, governed by the interim Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) or the Bangsamoro Parliament. The creation of the Bangsamoro region is the key component of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the final peace agreement signed by the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2014 after 17 years of negotiations.
With a workforce of at least 230 personnel, Peral said the UN agencies have hired workers mostly from the Bangsamoro region, noting that “they know the challenges and they know how to bring solutions.”
These UN agencies are working across the BARMM together with its various ministries, civil society organizations, grassroots communities and other development partners.
Peral said the UN agencies have built trust and forged strong partnership with the Bangsamoro government and other partners in delivering peace and development dividends to the area.
Among the UN agencies operating in the Bangsamoro region are the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Development Fund (UNDP), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the World Food Program (WFP).
Peral stressed that “at the heart of our engagement is peacebuilding, turning political progress into tangible socioeconomic gains.”
For example, in Lanao del Sur, women peace facilitators, supported by the UN Peacebuilding Fund, helped mediate tensions and rebuild trust in communities affected by conflict, he said.
“One of them told us (that) peace is not just the absence of war, it’s the presence of dignity – that spirit captures what this transition is all about,” he said.
Under the 2024-2028 cooperation framework in the BARMM, he said the UN system is prioritizing governance, strengthening public financial management and institutional capacity, working alongside ministries to design and operationalize sustainable systems.
Engr. Mohajirin Ali, director general of forum organizer Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority, said some of the milestones achieved together with international partner donors include the formulation of the Bangsamoro Development Plan and the establishment of the Bangsamoro International Development Assistance Committee.
“Our work here is firmly anchored in the principles of partnership, shared responsibility and mutual trust, ensuring that development assistance remained perfectly aligned with the priorities of the BARMM,” he said in a statement on Tuesday, February 17. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
