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Balay Mindanaw Attends 2nd Annual International People’s Summit for Departments of Peace
Last updated 4 July 2006

Government and civil society delegates from Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Palestine, the Philippines, Romania, the Solomon Islands, Spain, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States gathered at Victoria’s Royal Roads University to give birth to the Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace and to pose an effective global and national architecture for peace. Balay Mindanaw's Kaloy Manlupig is at the rear, rightmost.

Kaloy Manlupig of Balay Mindanaw, together with Franklin Quijano, who is the Chair of the Philippine Government Panel for the Peace Talks with the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa sa Mindanao (RPM-M), attended the Second Annual International Peoples’ Summit for Departments of Peace in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on June 18 - 22, 2006.

The Summit was organized by the International People’s Initiative for Departments of Peace and hosted by the Working Group for a Federal Department of Peace-Canada.

It was strategically situated to follow a similar meeting held in London, England, of national groups seeking Departments of Peace (DoPs) last Oct. 18-19, 2005, and immediately precedes the World Peace Forum in Vancouver on June 23-28, 2006. Kaloy and Franklin are now currently attending the World Peace Forum.

Sixty delegates from 20 countries assembled for four days in plenary sessions and working groups to lay the foundations for local, national, regional, and international campaigns that will work towards conflict resolution and peace-building activities.

Communiqué from the Second Peoples’ Summit 
for Ministries and Departments of Peace
Victoria, BC, Canada - June 19-22, 2006

The Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace gathered at Royal Roads University, Victoria, Canada, to advance the establishment of ministries and departments of peace in governments worldwide. Government and civil society delegates from Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Palestine, Philippines, Romania, Solomon Islands, Spain, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States united to develop an effective global and national architecture for peace.

In plenary sessions and working groups the foundations for local, national, regional, and international campaigns that will work towards conflict resolution and peacebuilding activities were established. “The role of governments in this initiative is crucial, in partnership with civil society,” said Franklin Quijano from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) in the Philippines. “Together we have the capacity to build the architecture that will make peacebuilding effective.” Said Fred Fakari’I, Department of Reconciliation, Unity and Peace, Solomon Islands.

The Global Alliance calls upon governments of the world and civil society organizations everywhere to:

• Develop the necessary resources and infrastructure for resolving conflicts effectively by peaceful means
• Establish, train and develop civil peace services and the human resources and capacities for peacebuilding and conflict transformation
• Incorporate conflict resolution and peacebuilding into school curricula from primary schools through university
• Actively engage youth, women, and all communities to participate as equals in peacebuilding, to ensure participation and representation of all
• Support and encourage coordinated efforts to gather lessons learned and best practices

“Everyone assembled here,” said Dr. Saul Arbess, Summit host and Canadian Working Group delegate, “is determined to provide the energy, skills and momentum to realize these goals, working in concert and harmony with peaceworkers worldwide.”