Team Activities in Mindanao
The mandate of the International Civilian Peacekeepers team (ICPs) lists:
- Exploration with the partners for possible scenarios and needs for larger-scale nonviolent intervention, including the Sulu Islands, Basilan and Sultan Kudarat.
- Working from a specific base with local communities on issues of violence prevention; supporting community members through training to be ready for nonviolent intervention in case of a looming crisis, and if requested linking them to other local or international agencies for rehabilitation, reconstruction and development needs.
- Placement with, and accompaniment of the partners or their affiliates to support them in their work.
- Development of formal relations with key actors in the conflict as part of potential official peace agreements.
Concretely, this includes:
- Provide conscious international presence by deploying ICPs in vulnerable areas to associate with partners from local civil society on a continuous basis.
- Offer protective accompaniment to individuals, groups or communities wedded to nonviolent solutions but exposed to threats.
- Provide neutral spaces and facilitation services to local peacemakers from different communities who attempt to resolve traditional (Rido) and non-traditional disputes carrying the potential of violence.
- Mutual sharing, learning and training on nonviolent strategies with peacemakers and authorities dealing with the peace process.
- Monitoring violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and reporting them to relevant national and international agencies upon the consent of survivors.
- Interpositioning. ICPs along with local peace volunteers and ceasefire monitors to boost the sanctity of buffer zones and zones of peace.
- Maintain impartial and open lines of communications with armed parties to the conflict and lawless elements* in the field sites of deployment. Engaging all the other influential actors in the identified field site areas, like religious leaders, youth groups, women groups and teachers associations, etc.
- Linking isolated communities residing in war prone areas to local or international agencies for relief and development so that peace and protection are mainstreamed.
- Refine early warning systems and rapid response through community interventions to proactively prevent violent incidents and engage the groups on constructive basis.
* This term when used by us refers to groups outside of and uncontrollable by the established parties to the conflict.