MORO PEACE MONITORING MISSION: A HUMANITARIAN DIPLOMACY EXPERIENCEDr. Ahmet Emin Dağ

This paper aims to present a brief historical in-cursion of the Moro Peace Process, a milestone which finalized one of the longest conflicts in the world and specifically to put the Turkish civilian contribution for its accomplishment under the humanitarian diplomacy concept.

This article consists of three parts: Firstly it will try to provide an exclusive analysis of the humanitarian diplomacy (HD) concept and Turkish NGO approach in the perspective of Humanitarian Relief Organization (IHH). Secondly it will summarize the short historical flow of the Moro Peace Process to put in context. Lastly it will explain the IHH’s peace monitor-ing role and practices as part of the Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT).

The research is based, along with official peace documents, on partly the author’s experiences as an IHH board member and interviews conducted

with two senior officials of IHH, Mr. Huseyin Oruç and İzzet Şahin, both have been involved either in the formulation or in the conduct of IHH’s mediation practices.

What is “Humanitarian Diplomacy”From the beginning of the 20th century, the conventional (traditional) diplomatic activities have been expanded and diversified. Climate change, environment, culture, health and access to information etc. have emerged as new diplo-matic fields. In this context, from humanitarian issues, to environmental policies, many topics have become major concern areas of interna-tional relations.

“Humanitarian diplomacy” (HD) is a concept that emerged within the last few decades to meet the variety of the urgent needs of the victims in a hu-manitarian crisis or a disaster. The HD concept in

1

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the international arena refers to the policies and practices of national and international agencies ac-tive in humanitarian aid work in order to alleviate the pain of the victims.2

The concept is the subject of the first work was published in 2006.3 This book has brought HD on the agenda of many humanitarian aid agencies and international organizations. However, the concept does not still posess an internationally recognized common definition. All three actors of humanitarian works; the states, international organizations and non-governmental organizations, have their different definitions, roles and objectives of humanitarian diplomacy.

Generally HD aims to mobilize public and govern-mental support and resourses for humanitarian ends by providing international humanitarian law to be treated in. For this, it contains negotiations between national and international actors regarding humani-tarian issues. According to an expository definition, HD has four important features:

a. to establish relationships with a broad network of contacts including non-state actors,

b. to be effective only in “humanitarian” space,

c. main objective not to be peace and

d. be independent from the state’s official humanitarian diplomacy.4

Within the Turkish foreign policy context HD is important as a “human-centered” approach

to foreign relations that the Fifth Annual Ambassadors Conference was held with the theme of “Humanitarian Diplomacy” in Ankara and Izmir between 2 and 7 January 2013. “As it was stated by H.E. Mr. Davutoğlu in his inaugural speech, this concept has been selected since it truly reflects the compassionate and competent character of the Republic of Turkey and depicts the human oriented nature of our foreign poli-cy which merges our interests with our values. Turkish foreign policy takes human dignity as a point of reference and remains determined to use all its means and capabilities in this direction.”5

As an internationally recognized6 Turkish human-itarian organization and the only Turkish NGO that deals with HD practices, Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) recognises that whilst aid is necessary to deal with the immediate needs of people, in most cases, greater change that is needed in a crisis is only achieved through diplomacy and resolution support So humanitarian diplomacy is one of the tools that IHH uses to save human life, along with other humanitarian assistance.

IHH, defines “humanitarian diplomacy” with a broader framework throught its goals and actors. The goals of humanitarian diplomacy, as IHH defines, are

a. protection of civilians in the regions which are experiencing crises, wars and natural disasters,

b. the rescuing of prisoners in peaceful man-ners,

2 Philippe Regnier, The emerging concept of humanitarian diplomacy: identification of a community of practice and prospects for international recognition, International Review of Red Cross, Vol. 93, December, 2011, p. 1212.

3 It is the book of authors Larry Minear and Hazel Smith: Humanitarian Diplomacy: Practitioners and Their Craft, UN University Press

4 Regnier, ibid, s. 1216.5 http://www.mfa.gov.tr/final_declaration_of_the_fifth_annual_ambassadors_conference.en.mfa6 As an international recognition and appreciation, due to its ‘hard’ work, the IHH was granted special

consultative status by the UN’s ECOSOC in 2004 and by the Organization of Islamic Conference’s (OIC) Humanitarian Forum in 2008. The IHH has also received several international and national awards.

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c. actively working in cases where traditional interstate diplomacy is not sufficient in solving problems.

Therefore, tools of HD may include advocacy, negotiation, communication, formal agreements and other measures. As for the actors, this process may include, governments, international organi-zations, civil society organizations, private sector and individuals in the mean time.7

The IHH perception of HD; aims to increase the sensitivity of lives in policies especially in crisis areas by mobilizing all legal and humanitarian channels. The core principles of IHH are to uphold human rights and try to ensure that the freedom and dignity of individuals are maintained.8

In this regard, the Foundation involves directly in hostage swap negotiations (such as in Syria9), par-ticipate in peace processes (such as in Philippine-Moro negotiations10) and sometimes, they pay official and non official visits to the high rang official of troubled countries (such as during the Iraqi civil war to prevent future bloodbaths11).

Moro Issue and the Peace AgreementA 40-year-long war between the Government of

Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) led to the killing of thousands of people and produced 2 million refugees. The reason behind the war is the struggle of local Muslim people to build their own independent or authonomous state in their historical lands.12 To finish the war and provide a peaceful normalization in the region, the peace negotiations began in the Philippines in January 1997 under the facilitation of the Government of Malaysia. The most progres-sive step that has been taken was the creation of the structures to support this process, especially a core team. As the main parties to the peace, the GPH Peace Panel and MILF Peace Panel were structured with the mandate. At the early stages of the process, an urgent cease fire agreement was guaranteed and then following stages of the process were discussed.13

The peace process has been carried out thanks to many local and international actors. Malaysia as the Third-Party Facilitator and Head of Mission of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) was present in the process from the beginning. The International Contact Group (ICG) was established in 2009 to oversee the process. The ICG; composed of Japan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey,

7 http://www.ihhakademi.com/insani-diplomasi-kavramina-genel-bir-giris-denemesi-iii/ (22 November 2015). 8 Interview with Mr. Oruç (September 2015). 9 IHH has the platform to offer this and its efforts have proven to be successful in a number of situations. In 2013,

IHH’s involvement was instrumental in negotiations between Syria, Turkey, Qatar and Iran led to the release of over 2,000 civilians, including 73 women, in exchange for 48 Iranian prisoners. Reported in http://www.middle-eastnews.net/index.php/sid/211864940

10 In the Philippines, IHH not only distributed food packages As is discussing in this article, IHH is one of the mem-bers of the Third Party Monitoring Team, designed to support the peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and ensure their mutual commitment to peace continues to be honoured. http://opapp.gov.ph/milf/features/third-party-monitoring-team-visits-manila-and-cotabato

11The author of this article was one of the members of the delegation who visited Iraq many times and carried out negotiations between the conflicting parties during the civil war in 2006-07 for NGO initiative.

12For more info about the Moro issue: Salah Jubair, Banksamoro A Nation Under Endless Tyranny, Malaysia, 1999; Cesar Adib Majul, The Contemporary Muslim Movement in the Philippines, 1985, USA; Peter Gowing, Unders-tanding Islam and Muslims in the Philippines, Quezzon, 1988.

13 For more info about the history of recent peace process: Salah Jubair, The Long Road to Peace Inside the GRP-MILF Peace Process, Davao, 2007, pp. 113-147; Francisco L. Gonzales, Sultans of a Violent Land (in Rebels, Warlords and Ulama, A Reader on Muslim Separatism and the War in Southern Philippines, ed. Kristina Gaer-lan-Mara Stankovitch), Manila, 2000, pp. 88-143.

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the United Kingdom, Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, Community of Sant’Egidio, Conciliation Resources, Muhammadiyah and the Asia Foundation, played its role especially after the first official peace documents were signed then. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as observer to the negotiations, played a guarantor role since the beginning of the process in the 1990’s.

It was the MILF who had wanted Turkey to be involved in the process as a strong ally of the local Muslim communities. Its uninterrupted presence in the region for humanitarian purposes since the beginning of the 1990’s has created such a trust among the local communities, to-

ward Turkish people and the organizations. According to the HD Department manager Mr. Oruç, IHH was effective upon MILF even within the early stages of the process. IHH was advising Moro Muslims the path to peace and autonomy option throught negotiations with the government.14

The GPH and MILF held more than 50 meetings in Kuala Lumpur for 10 years. Good intentions

of both sides and the endouvering efforts of the mediators bore fruit and resulted in the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bongsamoro (FAB) in Malacañang on October 15, 2012.15

By this Framework Agreement the GPH ad-mitted to the establishment of an autonomous region named Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BAR) and an independent team was established to monitor the implementation of the terms of the agreement. The Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT) was decided to be established in 2012 wherein negotiations were approaching a conclusion.16 This Framework Agreement and the signing the Comprehensive Agreement afterwards became a turning point for Moro’s 40 year struggle is expected to bring peace to the region and give autonomy to Moro people.

The Agreement consists of eight main titles:

Establishment of Bangsamoro: Under the first title of the FAB the Parties agreed that the cur-rent situation is unacceptable and instead of the current unstable local authority, the Bangsamoro government will be installed. As it was agreed in April 2012, the name of the new autonomous political structure was Bangsamoro. The parties also recognized the Bangsamoro identity. The natives and residents in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan archipelago are entitled to identify themselves as “Bangsamoro.”

Basic Law: The agreement stipulates that the Bangsamoro shall be governed by a Basic Law (constitution). The Constitution will reflect the Bangsamoro system of values and the manage-ment will have to meet internationally accepted standards.

Powers: According to the agreement the central government shall have the right on; defence

14 Inteviev with Huseyin Oruç (November, 2015). 15 http://www.opapp.gov.ph/sites/default/files/gph_milf_framework_agreement_on_the_bangsamoro_

booklet.pdf. (November, 2015)16 Hatice Söylemez, Moro, s. 106-107.

Table 1: Peace Actors in Moro Peace Process

Parties to the Peace• GPH• MLF

Monitor• TPMT

Mediators• Malaysia• ICG

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and external security, foreign policy, global trade issues, coinage and monetary policy, cit-izenship, naturalization and postal services. On the other side, Bangsamoro government shall have the right to govern other internal issues, including security.

Territory: The core territory of the Bangsamoro shall be composed of

a) the present geographical area of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,

b) the Municipalities of Baloi, Munai, Nunungan, Pantar, Tagoloan and Tanglkal in the province of Lanao del Norte and all other barrangays in the Municipalities of Kabacan, Carmen, Aleosan, Pigkawayan, Pikit, and Midsayap that voted for inclusion in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) during the 2001 plebiscite,

c) the cities of Cotabato and Isabela and

d) all other contiguous areas where there is a resolution of the local government unit or a petition of at least ten percent (%10) of the qualified voters in the area asking for their in-clusion at least two months prior to the conduct of the ratification of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

Basic Rights: The agreement legislates the “ba-sic rights” of the Bangsamoro people as; the right to life and the inviolability of one’s life and dignity, the right to freedom and expression of religion and beliefs, the right to privacy, the right to freedom of speech, to express political opinion etc. Internationally accepted political, economical, civil and minority rights are guar-anteed.

Transition and Implementation: The parties agreed to the need for a transition period and the institution of transitional mechanisms. In this regard the parties adopted an annex on transitional arrangements and modalities and

to creat a Transition Commission. During this transitional period the Commission would work upon a draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law and other legal documents.

Revenue Generation and Wealth Sharing: Parties agree that it is important for the creation of the Bangsamoro revenues and to use the resources. The new Bangsamoro administration will have the power to create its own revenues to be con-sistent with the constitution, and will have the right to tax.”

Normalization: One of the most important parts of the process is, of course, normalization as the parties agree that normalization is vital to the peace process. It is through normalization that communities can return to conditions where they can achieve their desired quality of life, which includes the pursuit of sustainable livelihoods and political participation within a peaceful deliberative society. As a matter of principle, the parties accepted, it is essential that policing structures and arrangements are such that the police service is professional and free from partisan political control. In this regard, while the MILF shall undertake a graduated program for decommissioning of its forces so that they are put beyond use, in a phased and gradual manner, all law enforcement functions shall be transferred from the Philippines Army to the police force for the Bangsamoro.17

Four different arrangements have been made to refine the Framework Agreement and to draw the road map for its implementation: The first of the supplementary regulations (Transitional Arrangements and Methods) was signed on February 27, 2013. According to this arrage-ment, the MILF and the government have agreed on the steps of the transition process that would start with the establishment of a transition com-mission (transom) and finish with the signing of the output document that confirms the pro-

17 http://pcdspo.gov.ph/downloads/2012/10/20121007-GPH-MILF-Fra¬mework-Agreement.pdf, (Septem-ber, 2015).

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cess of negotiation has been finalized.18 In the transition period, MILF insurgents which are estimated to be about 10,000-15,000 leave their weapons, the Philippines army will withdraw from the region simultaneously. A portion of the insurgents to join to the “Peace and Security” team of the Moro police force.

The second regulation named Income Generation and Wealth Sharing was signed on July 13, 2013. This agreement consists of sections dealing with taxation, other sources of revenue, costs and ex-penses, grants and donations, the central government fund transfers, credit commitments, overseas devel-opment assistance and natural resources. Regarding the taxes collected in Bangsamoro, 25% of tuition and fees will go to the central government, while 75% would be left to the Bangsamoro government.19

The third regulation was Power Sharing signed on December 8, 2013, which has determined the autonomous areas of the two governments and decided which areas will have joint jurisdiction. Accordingly, the Bangsamoro administration shall completely be free in their internal affairs while the foreign affairs, defense and security issues will be in the hands of the Philippines government.20

The last of the regulations titled Normalization was signed on January 25, 2014. The parties met to

agree on this deal intensively for 14 months from November 2012 and signed an agreement in January 2014. Thus, the long-hoped-for major components of the Comprehensive Agreement is completed. The Supplemantary normalization agreement contains details about the process of either termination of the MILF’s armed wing and disarmament of the militias or the peaceful return to the civilian life of MILF within the prescribed limits of Bangsamoro.21

The transition process towards autonomy was of-ficially inaugurated right after the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) was established in the city of Kotabato under the aforementioned FAB. But the formal process for the completion of the process began with the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) between the MILF and government of Benigno Aquino in March 28, 2014. The CAB contains all of the agreements signed between the two sides since 1997. Namely, instead of being a new agreement, it puts all of the previous agreements together in a comprehensive text.22

After the Bangsamoro Constitution (BBL) is pre-pared and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region is established, the draft of the constitution will be submitted to the president of Philippines to check and review. If everything goes right and approved by the Philippines President, it will be

18 http://opapp.gov.ph/re¬sources/annex-transitional-arrangements-and-modalities, (September, 2015).19 “Gov’t, MILF sign wealth-sharing annex for Bangsamoro”, http://www.opapp.gov.ph/ milf/news/go-

v%E2%80%99t-milf-sign-wealth-sharing-annex-bangsamoro (September, 2015).20 “Annex on Power-Sharing”, http://www.opapp.gov.ph/milf/news/annex-power-sha¬ring (September, 2015)21GPH, MILF complete final annex to Framework Agreement; stress bigger chal¬lenges ahead”, http://www.

opapp.gov.ph/milf/news/gph-milf-complete-final-annex-fra¬mework-agreement-stress-bigger-challen-ges-ahead (September, 2015)

22 The Comprehensive Agreement contains of 12 different agreements and regulations signed previous years which are: the Agreement fort he General Cessation of Hostilities signed on 18 July 1997 in Cagayan de Oro City, General Framework of Agreement on 27 August 1998 in Maguindanao, Agreement on the General Framework on the Resumption of Peace Talks on 24 March 2001 in Kuala Lumpur, Agreement on Peace between the GPH and MILF on 22 June 2001 in Tripoli, Declaration of Continuity for Peace Negotiations between the GPH and MILF on 3 June 2010 in Kuala Lumpur, GPH-MILF Decision Points on Principles on 24 April 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro on 15 October 2012 in Manila, An-nex on Transitional Arragements and Modalities on 27 February 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Annex on Revenue Generation and Wealth Sharing on 13 July 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Annex on Power Sharing on 8 December 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Annex on Normalization on 25 January 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Addendum on the Bangsamoro Waters and Zones of Joint Cooperation on 25 January 2014 in Kuala Lumpur.

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23 “Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro”, http://www.opapp.gov.ph/re¬sources/comprehensi-ve-agreement-bangsamoro (September, 2015) Constitution in its preamble starts by the grace of God. Draft BBL covers four main headings: a) identification of the regions and the population, b) the authority and power sharing, c) justice system, and d) financial autonomy. Bangsamoro’s land and sea borders, the basic principles of identity and management of the people are mentioned in the first part. Additionally, this se-ction stipulates that Bangsamoro will be a region of self-governing, democratic, respectful of civil rights and social justice underlining good management and the principle of preventing evil. In spite of the central government in the Philippines is presidential system, it stipulates, it is the parliamentary system will be applied in Bangsamoro region. In the second part, which will have the powers of the Bangsamoro autono-mous government and detailed how to establish a balance of power between the central government and the local government. Under the third title, fundamental rights and freedoms of the people are described and the Bangsamoro justice system is established. The BBL emphasized that Sharia will be the basis in the local justice system but the Shariah courts are only for the Muslims not the others. The last part determines the fiscal autonomy of Bangsamoro and describes the economic resources and the rates of revenue from them.

24 http://www.opapp.gov.ph/sites/default/files/gph_milf_framework_agreement_on_the_bangsamoro_book-let.pdf. (November, 2015)

25 http://www.opapp.gov.ph/resources/third-party-monitoring-team-tpmt-and-its-terms-reference. (Decem-ber, 2015)

26 The Current TPMT members are: Alistair Mac Donald, (Former EU Ambassador to the Philippines, the President of TPMT), Hüseyin Oruç, (Vice President of IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation), Steven Rood, (Country Representative from Asian Foundation), Karen Tanyada, (President of Peace Institute Gaston Z Ortigas), Rahip Kutho, (Trustee of Mindanao Human Rights Action Center).

sent to the Philippines Congress for ratification. After such a challenging phase at the Parliament, subsequently the management of the transitional government will be handed over to the MILF.23

Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT) and IHH’s RoleWhen the Framework Agreement was signed in 2012, Article 11 of the Transition and Implemantation section in the Agreement stip-ulated “There will be created a third party mon-itoring team to be composed of international bodies, as well as domestic groups to monitor the implementation of all agreements.”24

Accordingly, the Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT) was created and mandated by the Parties to monitor, review and assess the implementation of all signed agreement aforementioned. TPMT as an independent body, composed of 5 members each of them were elected by the peace panels. According to the term of references of the TPMT,25

the Chair of the team should have an eminent in-ternational person and shall act as convenor and spokesperson for the team. Second member of

the team is from a local non-government organi-zation nominated by the Philippine government. Third member is also a representative from a local non-governmental organization but nomi-nated by the MILF. Fourth representative is from an international non-governmental organization nominated by the government and the fifth one is a representative from an international non-gov-ernmental organization nominated by the MILF. The IHH became a member of the Team by this MILF quota.26

The mandate and responsibility of the monitoring team is to do with the whole peace process and not a particular phase of it. All members were mutually accepted and agreed upon by the Parties. The basic function of the TPMT is to monitor and evaluate the implementation of all agreements and to assess the progress of the implementa-tion of commitments by both Parties under these agreements. To this end, the TPMT submits com-prehensive periodic reports and updates to both Parties for their appropriate action.

At the end of the transition period, the GPH and MILF Peace Negotiating Panels, together with

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the Malaysian Facilitator and the TPMT, shall convene a meeting to review, assess or evaluate the implementation of all agreements and the pro-gress of the transition. After an “Exit Document” signed by TPMT, officially finalizing the peace process will be crafted and signed by both Parties if and only when all agreements have been fully implemented.

As previously stated, when peace had come to the stage and there was a need of an impartial international body for monitoring, The name of IHH was mentioned by the MILF Peace Panel. According to Mr. Oruç, IHH board member, MILF had requested IHH to be present in this process and to stand stand next to them because of trust in the Foundation specifically in addition to the general trust present for Turkish people: “Our first visit took place in 1996 for a humanitarian relief operation. We never stepped back after this date from the Moro region. We have shown that Turkish people have been standing with the Muslims there with the means of humanitarian assistance. Especially, after the 9/11 terror attacks in the US, Islamic or-ganizations operating in the region were forced to stop all their works and projects due to the pressure present. We have never stopped our work. With us staying within the region, especially in its most difficult times had put us in a special place among the local people and the organizations.” he said.

One of the most important steps taken by IHH in the process was to open a branch of Philippines in the city of Kotobato. One of the Foundation’s board of directors moved to the city and set-tled there with his family as a direct and quick contact.

TPMT has authority and freedom to exert its duties. It has power to organize its work in the manner it deems most appropriate. It can devise its own tasking, work plans, security and con-fidentiality protocols, and financial systems in order to comply with requirements imposed by funding sources. It defines codes of conduct par-ticularly with respect to the relationship between its members and their organizational affiliations. As a monitoring team the TPMT works on the basis of consensus. The members of the Team, have access to all reports and activities connected to the implementation of the agreements.

The Team convenes regularly, every two months, and sometimes as they deem necessary. During the process, IHH representatives paid regular visits to the region, to monitor and report the progress in the field as a part of TPMT. IHH monitors how much the agreement is implement-ed and to what extent the Philippines Army has withdrawn from the region. It has negotiations and meetings not only with MILF but also with the other sides of the process. On the other hand, IHH continues its humanitarian aid projects in the region victimized by war for years.

IHH carries out its duties, as a TPMT member, through visits to the regions and the Team sub-mits confidential written reports to the chairper-sons of the two Peace Panels and to the facilitator, quarterly and as deemed necessary. The reports should contain the team’s observations and rec-ommendations and not of the opinion of a single member of the Team. This means that the IHH representative just from his own perspective and should consult the other parties parties.

Parties are not bound by the recommendations but they need to submit written responses to the Team. The Team produces a public written report yearly or as it deems necessary, providing

Table 2: Peace Monitoring Wheel (ICG: International Contact Group, BTC: Bangsamoro Transition Commission, TPMT: Third Party Monitoring Team)

TPMTBTC

ICG

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an overall assessment of development in the implementation of the Agreements.

The team met first in Malaysia in July 2013. In September of the same year, the TPMT met in the Philippines and formed its own road map. The TPMT members pay visits into the area every two months and stay there for 15 days each. Their main interlocutors on both sides are either the Government or MILF Peace Panels. Beyond that, they have meetings with Ministers, Deputies, Senators, Chief of Staff, Chief of Police and other government officials, governors, mayors, army commanders and even ordinary citizens. During the field work and these meetings, the Team follows the steps outlined in the FAB. Since the major tasks of the Team are; to monitor the implementation of the peace agreement, paying visits to the region and to prepare a report in three months; the TPMT have the authority to have meetings with the local people and to share ideas with them.

In fact, the process will be executed by the sin-cerity of both sides. TPMT’s contribution would be to detect and report the missing dimensions. The most important responsibility of the IHH is to oversee the implementation of the deal in a fair way and the rights of the people whom IHH represents of are respected. Since the IHH is the representative of the “weak side” of the process, namely the Moro minority people, it is especially important and challenging for it to protect the rights of the “underdog” towards the “strong side” which is the government. It is especially vital for the fact that the legal rights of the peo-ple in the region were exposed to risks that the government came up with unilateral decisions, in the implementation of the treaties because of its own internal political strife in the Capital.

In addition to its monitoring role in the field, IHH increased its projects that are designed to build trust and confidence on the one hand, and to support the normalisation of domestic processes on the other. Through these projects IHH has in-teracted with conflict-affected communities, state and non-state groups. To ensure that the projects

are locally owned and that they have communi-ty participation, the projects are defined by and requested by local actors, and not prescribed by the IHH Moro Team.

After the TPMT was established, Within a one-year timeframe IHH has initiated a range of pro-jects which vary depending on the local context and specific concerns of parties to the peace agreement and affected communities. The pro-jects aim, specifically, to provide basic services to the conflict-affected communities; opening a liaison office; capacity building operations of local NGOs; and supporting public consultations within the peace process.

Amongs the most important projects, the schools and orphanages are vital in the region. During the long period of conflict within the past, thousands of children had become orphaned and had grown up without primary education. To solve this very urgent societal problem, IHH completed 2 big orphanages and a school buildings seperately. There are also two ther orphanages and a school building projects currently under construction.

These community projects focus on providing assistance to conflict-affected communities, often alongside the creation of opportunities for the locals.

One of the most important challenges after the authority is passed to the local MILF administi-ration is the lack of capable and skilled staff who carry out the governmental and municipal works.

Considering the need for trained people, IHH brought a part of the future management candi-dates and offered training opportunities in mu-nicipal and political branches in Turkey. For legal education, IHH sent a group of legal experts to the Moro Region to educate the local candidates in legal issues and help them to build their own legal institutions.

IHH uses different activities in Turkey and the international arena to get official and civil support to play the role more effectively. In this regard, IHH carries the struggle of the Moro people to the agenda of the Turkish public in particular and

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to the international arena in general. Having pub-lished a book, reports and informative papers for the press, IHH informs the public opinion about the process in Moro and raises consciousness to get support for the Moro peace process.27 IHH organized two visit programs of the MILF leader, el Haj Murad Ebrahim to Turkey, in which the first one was in January, 2013 and the second was in December, 2015. These official visits were es-sential events for the peace process to be known by the Turkish public and to get the support for the peace process.

One of the most difficult missions of the team is to make sure that, a comprehensive needs assessment should be undertaken for the members of the once warring groups and their communities as a basis for a comprehensive socio-economic develop-ment program. As part of the peace process, the Parties agreed to intensify development efforts for rehabilitation, reconstruction and development of Bangsamoro. The TPMT should assess the process with the help of the Parties.

One of the indispensable roles of the TPMT is to monitor how the normalization process goes. A Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) was created to work out a program for transitional justice to address the legitimate grievances of the Bangsamoro people

and human rights violations. After this commis-sion undertakes a study and recommendations to the panels the appropriate mechanisms for transitional justice and reconciliation, the role of the team will become even more vital.

After the two parties constitute joint task forces for some MILF camps and assess the needs, the two groups will undertake the necessary meas-ures to transform these areas into peaceful and productive communities. To monitor all these processes, TPMT would play a role to make sure that the process will be completed succesfully.

One of the most challenging missions of the team is to monitor military redeployments for its sen-sitivity. While, the Philippine government rede-ploys the army units and troops from or within the Bangsamoro region, the MILF undertakes a program for decommissioning of its forces so that they put beyond use. The TPMT should monitor the aspects of the process so that the smooth transition for the MILF members to productive civilian life and normalization is guaranteed. The biggest difficulty for this mission is the fact that, the TPMT does not have military experts to assess the degree of the progress. Consisting totally of civilian monitors, TPMT can only make assess-ments depending on the narrations of the parties.

27 Among the publications are the book of “Moro” (by Hatice Uğur) is the only Turkish book about the region, published by IHH.

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Conclusion

NGOs are generally defined as autonomous non-profit and non-party/politically-unaffiliated organizations that advance a particular cause or set of causes in the public interest. The range of causes on which an NGO can focus is unlimited espicially after the globalization. Thanks to globalization process, the Turkish NGO roles internationally and missions are diversified as well. From humanitarian assistance to the development projects there are plenty of NGO’s working around the world today.

One of them, The IHH is one of the contributors to the peaceful transition period in Moro region in Philippine in recent years. Under the Humanitarian Diplomacy context, IHH carries out peace mon-itoring mission there with the other international organizations.

As an only Turkish NGO in such peace operations, IHH’s role is very important not only for its expe-

rience, but also the new Turkish approach to the local peaceful solutions. TPMT is the main tool that enable the NGO contribution in the peace process. IHH’s role in the TPMT is additionally important that the first time a humanitarian assistance and peaceful transition goes in the mean time. In ad-dition to humanitarian aid, it made clear that the role IHH plays in contributing to the peace, also offers important experience for NGOs.

IHH’s crucial role in recent peace building process might be the inseperable content of the implemen-tation. In previous agreements, one of the reasons behind the failure was the fact that, the PGH felt that it was upper hand position and had kind of immunity in the cases that it feels itself free regard-ing the keeping of promisis. This time, along with the mediators the independent monitoring team is main guarantor of the peace.