The Center for Peace Education-Miriam College is pleased to share its latest publication -- At the Frontline: Women Peacekeepers in the Philippines. Launched last 13 December 2019 at Discovery Suites, the publication and manual documents the Women’s Agency in Keeping the Peace, Promoting Security, a localization initiative of CPE supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Manila.

The Women’s Agency in Keeping the Peace, Promoting Security, shortly called WePeace, aims at sharing capacities with selected community women on gender-responsive peacemaking and peacekeeping. In 2019, trained women peacekeepers have engaged in community mediation, monitoring and documentation, complementing the work of community peace and order councils. WePeace supports the implementation of some action points in the current National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP-WPS), including capacitation of women from conflict-affected or vulnerable communities under the NAP’s pillar on Empowerment and Participation.

Implemented in four communities, a representative from North Cotabato, Surigao del Sur, Kalinga, and Quezon were present to share their peacekeeping and peacebuilding experiences. An hour-long dialogue then followed between the women peacekeepers and guests, discussing the perception of women in the peacekeeping roles to the challenges of peace and security they face in their respective communities.

Present in this launch were the Royal Norwegian Embassy, with Ambassador Bjørn Jahnsen and policy adviser, Nikki Delfin, and representatives from the British Embassy in Manila, the United Nations Philippines country office, and GIZ Philippines. From the government, the Gender and Development officers of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and the Armed Forces of the Philippines were in attendance. #WomenInspiringWomen for Peace and Security and Every Woman were among the national peace and women NGOs present.

This publication has been distributed back to the women peacekeeping teams, local partners, attendees of the event.  It is hoped that this publication increase the support for more WPS trainings, inspire more women to engage in peacekeeping, and create wider and meaningful spaces for more women to participate in building and securing peace. 

The publication can be accessed here > CPE Resources