HWPL's answer to peace that renews the future of the global village

HWPL Presents Practical Peace for Ending War and Conflict in Mindanao, Philippines

HWPL urges people of the world to have the mindset of ‘We are One’ to become one in peace!

HWPL, a Korean peace organisation that exports peace

The world has made efforts to resolve conflicts and establish peace, but in recent decades, there has been a major change in the origins of conflicts. After the end of the Cold War, ethnic and religious identities that were bound by ideology emerged as a source of conflict. Ethnic and religious conflicts have increased significantly, accounting for more than 80% of the types of conflicts that occur worldwide. The emergence of a new conflict structure requires a new approach to problem solving. Although the entities that can cause conflict have expanded to groups and individuals beyond the state, it also means that the entities that can resolve conflicts can also be expanded to the private level of organizations and individuals rather than the state. The world has become a world where anyone can take action to realize global peace.

Mindanao was the site of the largest armed conflict in Southeast Asia. Due to the political, economic, and cultural discrimination and contradictions accumulated since the colonial period of Spain and the United States, armed groups were formed and struggled since the 1960s. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which had been active in Mindanao as a base, was the largest armed group in Southeast Asia as well as the Philippines. In the 2010s, the Philippine government declared an all-out war with the MILF, which resulted in 120,000 casualties. The conflict in Mindanao clearly shows the crisis facing the global village, the proliferation of conflicts based on ethnic/religious identities that emerged in the 21st century. Peace in Mindanao was a problem directly related to security issues not only in the Philippines, but also in Southeast Asia and the world.

Efforts have been made to resolve the conflict after a conflict that has resulted in massive casualties. The Mindanao Peace Process emerged. The peace process was supported by international non-governmental organizations along with the governments of Japan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UK, as well as Malaysia, the mediator of the official government-MILF peace agreement. In addition to the official process, international organizations such as the European Union and Islamic Cooperation Organization and various private organizations supported peace and provided humanitarian aid to establish peace. The conflict never ended just by signing a peace treaty. Peace in Mindanao showed the need for a fundamental and long-term approach across politics, economy, society and culture to prevent a recurrence of war. HWPL, headquartered in Korea, started a journey of peace in Mindanao, which is directly linked to world peace.

Mindanao Peace Declaration, HWPL Mindanao Peace Agreement

Efforts for peace in Mindanao, which had never been attempted at the Korean government level, were made by the private sector. In 2013, Man-Hee Lee, CEO of HWPL, visited Mindanao, where tensions were rampant due to military clashes until then. His efforts, which he has visited all over the world, to build international solidarity for peace on the Korean Peninsula and around the world, and to appeal for cooperation and support, have been put to the test. It was a new approach at the private level to conclude a peace agreement between Mindanao's local leaders and non-governmental organizations.

At the time of the agreement, Representative Lee asked the attendees, “Do you want peace or war?” and when all the participants raised their hands that they wanted peace, Representative Lee said, “Then, please sign the peace agreement,” and greeted the Catholic-Muslims who attended the site. He called on them to stop conflict and do their best in reconciliation and cooperation for the sake of peace. After signing the agreement, two leaders representing local Islam and Catholicism, government and private sector, politics and religion joined hands. This was the declaration of the beginning of the path to peace in Mindanao, and it was the signal to enter a world where peace transcends religions and countries and becomes one with peace. Since then, January 24 has become the anniversary of the peace agreement in Mindanao until now, as well as the day of festivals and events commemorating the peace of Mindanao.

Peace as an institution and culture – the foundation stone for long-term peace

The civil peace agreement mediated by HWPL was a declaration for a permanent peace in Mindanao. After that, HWPL and all relevant parties, including local politics, religion, and civil society, began to cooperate for peace. At the regional level, from 2019 to 2020, major cities in Mindanao, such as Kotabato City and Davao City, have resolved to support and implement the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) announced by HWPL. It is meaningful in that it is the political base of the president and current vice president Sarah Duterte. The DPCW aims to spread the culture of peace and the basic principles for the prohibition, prevention, and resolution of conflicts and wars, and was written jointly by HWPL and international law experts. The DPCW has been developed and functions as an international legal document with legal, institutional, and normative functions by international organizations, central and local governments, and civil society.

In addition, along with civil society organizations, we are continuing a peace awareness campaign in which citizens participate and building a peace monument. The Peace Monument is a symbol of peace that reminds us of the spirit of coexistence and respect in our daily lives. Examples include Camp Dharapanan of Sultan Kudarat, a former military base for militants, and a peace monument built in the Purok Tongkie area of Kotabato City, where armed conflicts between Muslims, Christians and indigenous peoples were frequent in the past. As the fighters returned to their daily lives one after another due to the implementation of the peace agreement between the government and armed groups, the fact that they melted their weapons and erected a monument became a symbol of the transition to a world of peace.

At the national level, efforts are being made to establish peace through cooperation with central government departments in the field of education. HWPL has been implementing peace education at the international level suggested by the United Nations and UNESCO to students and citizens in the Philippines, starting with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with 70 educational institutions in Mindanao in February 2016. Citizen education focusing on character development in line with the era of peace is a recent international educational trend. Recently, HWPL’s peace education has been evaluated as having a higher level of systemicity than UNESCO’s civil education, which was recently introduced on a pilot basis by some local governments in Korea. .

In the Philippines, in 2018, an MOU was signed with the Higher Education Commission (CHED), an organization under the direct control of the president, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, curriculum development and education on peace education are being expanded nationwide. Through this cooperation, 2,551 teachers from 557 educational institutions are trained in the Philippines alone, contributing to peace education for 23,000 students (200 teachers in Mindanao and 5,000 students).

Regarding the achievements made in Mindanao since 2013, when a peace agreement was signed at the private level, HWPL CEO Manhee Lee unanimously says that it is not an individual achievement, but ‘a work done by God’ and ‘a God-accompanied work’. While the fruits of peace are bearing fruit wherever mysterious and miraculous powers lead the cooperation of the global village, he always emphasizes, “Let’s all become messengers of peace and leave peace as a legacy for future generations.” The possibility of peace emphasized by HWPL will become a reality when people around the world take the lead and become one in peace.

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by HWPL

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