Implementation

As the first country in Asia to develop a national action plan, in 2010, the Philippines has been steadily implementing the provisions of its plan on a national scale. Our six- year national action plan has four interrelated and complementary purposes, with corresponding outcomes, indicators, time frames and key implementers. The Philippines national action plan rests on four pillars; first, protection and prevention to ensure the protection of women’s human rights; secondly, empowerment and participation to empower women and ensure their active and meaningful participation in the areas of peacebuilding, peacekeeping, conflict prevention, conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction; thirdly, promotion and mainstreaming to promote and mainstream gender perspectives in all aspects of conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peacebuilding; and, fourthly, capacity development and monitoring and reporting to institutionalize a system to monitor, evaluate and report on the implementation of the national action plan in order to enhance accountability for the successful implementation and achievement of its goals.

Since the Philippines formulated the national action plan it has focused on the localization of the four pillars of the plan. There are now 41 provinces within conflict zones that have developed their own local action plans. Identifying their own specific concerns and prioritizing them has made the national action plan relevant to such local areas. The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, the co-Chair of the steering committee of the national action plan, is committed to engaging more local Government units to formulate their own local action plans. The Philippines believes that States can benefit from each other’s national experiences in enriching their own programmes. It is in that context that the Philippines was happy to sign up to the women and peace and security focal points network, which was launched here in New York last September. We thank the Government of Spain for that initiative. We discovered that some States found our experience in the partnership between Government and civil society particularly useful. We believe that the focal point network will make this sharing of experiences more efficient and timely, and we look forward to taking advantage of this tool.

I am also proud to announce that the Philippines is represented in the roster of Justice Rapid Response by three Filipino professionals, who can be requested by the international community to investigate, analyse and report on situations where serious human rights and international criminal violations have been reported. The Philippines is happy for the opportunity to contribute its talents to the work of the women and peace and security agenda through Justice Rapid Response.

As we now go forward in the process of negotiating a peace agreement with the Communist Party of the Philippines and its Front and armed group and in implementing the peace agreement signed with two Moro Liberation Fronts, the Philippines is committed, more than ever, to working towards the full implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). Our Government recognizes that that landmark international instrument is there for Governments like ours to adhere to. Certainly, there is a need for women to be protected as the victims of violence and war but, as stated in resolution 1325 (2000), we further recognize that women’s leadership is critical to finding enduring solutions to destructive and dehumanizing conflicts.