Page 11 - Empowerment and Protection - The Philippines

PhiliPPines
Conclusion
and recommendations
ffffffthe perspectives shared show just a fraction of the genuine efforts to protect and empower the populations at risk, however they continue to lack a comprehensive and cohesive approach. this is evident in the examples of nGos introducing specific technologies into IP communities for agricultural production without matching these to community capacities, agrarian reform that is too focused on land redistribution and not production, and the vagueness of ongoing peace talks with regards to the state of non-Islamised IPs and their territories.
Failure of governance and its mechanisms remains a
pressing problem. The incapacity of government to
provide the stable superstructure and mechanisms
communities appreciate mechanisms that they themselves engage, understand, and are linked to existing or traditional practices. Such mechanisms are effective and convey respect for local communities.
Recommendations
On engaging traditional communities
▪ Prioritise traditional and community-based practices, such as traditional governance mechanisms, which promote human security as effective solutions. The best-crafted laws must fit the local context. Include affected communities as a critical partner in the implementation mechanisms crafted. Communitarian processes and decision-making, oftentimes based on traditional and/or existing practices, continue
to resonate strongly with local communities, in turn making their adoption and practice realistic, participative, representative and sustainable.
▪ Be attuned and sensitive to local realities and sensibilities. When seeking to assist IPs, respect traditional leadership customs and lineages and cultural values.
On developing successful advocacy
▪ Hold governments accountable and responsible for implementing laws that protect local communities, such as IPRA. Hold governments to the higher standard of ensuring human rights.
▪ Refer to history and the past in plotting a direction for the future. A clear understanding of the history, sources and relationships of the roots of prevailing insecurity issues is necessary to craft an effective response.
▪ Sustain education as the cornerstone of all advocacy efforts. Advocacy must incorporate an education component to build awareness that leads to popular action. Later stages of advocacy should ultimately be aimed at enabling and empowering people to act as their own advocates.
▪ Engage women as change agents in traditional and non-traditional roles. Support the development of women in both traditional roles
as healers, educators, and leaders and in expanded roles as peace-builders, negotiators, and political leaders.
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the discussions from all three perspectives. The prevailing politics of patronage, power and favour, the inefficiency of the justice system in providing accessible redress measures, the inability to ensure stable peace and order and even the cases of security forces committing human rights violations are failures in governance.
The marked inequality between the rich and poor is both a result and cause of the marginalisation
of IPs, women, and the poor, and contributes to a perception of an imbalance in how human security is addressed. The proportion of the population in poverty continues to grow but there are diminishing resources to address the needs of the poor. Without active advocacy and actions for their rights and entitlements, these same peoples and sectors are further marginalised. This is linked to the state’s perceived incapacity to respond comprehensively
to issues, particularly safeguarding the welfare of the most disadvantaged.
High-level legislative advocacy is only successful if new laws are effectively implemented. Legislative advocacy has proven to be only part of resolving security issues. The marked success of introducing landmark legislation such as the IPRA or the Anti- Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 is seen as a positive yet incomplete step. Guaranteeing effective implementation mechanisms of such mandates remains necessary. Some laws remain constrained by mechanisms that are ineffective, inappropriate or incapable of delivering on their mandate. Successful governance systems and mechanisms require access and familiarity with their operation. Implementation mechanisms that involve the affected communities have greater chances of being accepted, effective and sustainable. Local
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for good governance is sounded repeatedly in