Swiss gov't chairs GPH-MILF justice, reconciliation commission

COTABATO CITY - The Swiss government has been designated to chair the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) of the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace process, peace officials today said. During meeting on the implementation of the Normalization Annex” to the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB)in Kuala Lumpur September 27, the panel chairs of the GPH and the MILF announced the establishment of the commission.The Commission will be chaired by Mo Bleeker, Special Envoy of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and Head of the Task Force for Dealing with the Past and the Prevention of Atrocities.” Having accepted the invitation of the two parties to chair the TJRC, Switzerland is fully involved in the peace process. The CAB signed between the two parties in March 27 this yearand facilitated by Malaysia provides among others a number of mechanisms within the framework of the normalization process.” One of these mechanisms is the TJRC. Having been invited by both panels to take on the chairmanship of this commission, the Swiss government nominated Mo Bleeker for this function. The TJRC’s two other commission members are Mrs. Cecilia Jimenez Damary, representing the Philippine Government, and Mr. Ishak Mastura of the MILF. Mr. Jonathan Sisson from the FDFA serves as special adviser to the commission.As an independent commission established by the Normalization Annex” to the CAB, the TJRC is tasked to undertake a study and recommend to the Panels the appropriate mechanisms to address legitimate grievances of the Bangsamoro people, correct historical injustices, and address human rights violations and marginalization through land dispossession, towards healing and reconciliation. The TJRC shall also recommend programs and measures that will bring about the reconciliation of the different communities that have been affected by the conflict.” The Commission is given one year to submit its report to the two panel chairs.The TJRC will travel to Cotabato on October 4 to launch the first official public meeting, which is followed by a launch on October 11 in Manila. The Commission is supported by a small secretariat in the execution of its function.The Task Force for Dealing with the Past and the Prevention of Atrocities” is an entity created by FDFA in 2011. It combines several of the FDFA’s organizational entities, such as the Human Security Division, United Nations and International Organizations Division, the Directorate of International Law, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The Task Force promotes a Swiss designed approach to the fight against impunity and the prevention of atrocities both at the multilateral and bilateral level. As in the case of the TJRC, the Task Force is frequently approached to offer its expertise.