Bangsamoro women leaders to help draft EO on transitional justice commission

AUTONOMOUS REGION IN MUSLIM MINDANAO:

THE OFFICE of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) has partnered with Bangsamoro women leaders for the drafting of an executive order (EO) that will create National Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission on the Bangsamoro (NTJRCB). The EO, the OPAPP said in a statement, will be presented to President Rodrigo R. Duterte. During a two-day conference to promote gender-sensitive transitional justice agenda held in Metro Manila last week, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus G. Dureza expressed the importance of acknowledging women victims of armed-conflict through transitional justice as means of putting back their dignities damaged by conflict situations. OPAPP Director Pamela Ann Padilla-Salvan also talked about sustainable peace through healing and justice. “Transitional justice is not just about the mere passing, transition or movement of time. It is about connecting the historical past to the transforming present that would create a shared future. It is about remembering, and taking lessons from the past that will be useful in the future,” Ms. Salvan said. The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), under the Normalization Annex, includes a provision on transitional justice, which is a critical component to strengthen the rule of law in a post-conflict setting and an integral element to peace-building as it aims to redress for past human rights violations. The Bangsamoro women said it is imperative that women’s right to access truth, justice, and reparations is recognized as part of achieving and sustaining peace and ensuring accountability for crimes committed in times of conflict against women and girls. —