As part of our programme in the Philippines, Alert recently took part in the Philippines’ Month of Peace with many activities.
Day of Peace and World March for Peace and Non-Violence
Generation Peace, an alliance of students and committed youth from diverse regions of the Philippines, led a commemoration of the UN Day of Peace in the Philippines’ capital, Manila. Gathering stories of peacemaking from different organisations and communities, the youth put together a film entitled “Peace Stories” and drew their peace messages on “peace tiles” which were then put together in a mosaic set up in Quezon City’s Rotonda Park – a stone’s throw from the University of the Philippines.
Alert supported the efforts of Generation Peace and participated in the programme which featured speakers from UNDP, the Philippines’ Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Processes (OPAPP), the religious and student sectors, and artists who sang and danced for an overwhelmingly large young crowd drawn to the cause of peace.
Alert likewise participated in the World March for Peace and Non-Violence that passed by Manila on 2nd October 2009, marking both the UN International Day of Non-Violence and the birthday of the apostle of non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi.
Read Alert’s message for the World March for Peace and Non-Violence
Peace Covenant
In the same week, Alert brought together representatives of major Filipino political formations and civil society organisations to launch a Peace Covenant aimed at:
• advancing principled politics in the Philippines by working towards party platforms and programmes of government that will prioritise the pursuit of peace,
• the protection of human rights for all, while advancing the social justice agenda; and
• the elimination of violence in the run up to the 2010 national elections and beyond.
The Commission of Human Rights was mandated to monitor compliance by signatories to the Covenant to ensure that elected leaders and parties abide by the spirit and letter of this proposed Covenant.
Alert addresses the Supreme Court
As a culmination of the month of peace, the Supreme Court of the Philippines together with the Ateneo Law School, the OPAPP and the UNDP, convened a Distinguished Lecture Series on the topic of comparative peace processes and their relevance to the Philippines. Kelvin Ong of the UN Mediation Support Unit and Alert’s Senior Policy Advisor Ed Garcia were the main speakers to address the Supreme Court.
Read Prof. Ed Garcia address to the Supreme Court
