THE PHILIPPINE CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES (PCBL), AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH GENEVA CALL: SOME HISTORY (12/07/09)

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What is the Philippine Campaign to Ban Landmines?

PCBL is the country civil society campaign group on the landmines issue since 1995. It is the recognized non-governmental country campaign affiliate of the likewise non-governmental International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), Nobel Peace Prize laureate for 1997. But while ICBL has focused on victim-activated anti-personnel mines (APMs) which are the subject of a total ban under the 1997 Ottawa Treaty, PCBL has gone beyond that as a global issue to also address the issue of other landmines like anti-vehicle mines (AVMs) and command-detonated mines which have not (yet) been banned but are found on the ground in the Philippines, including as Explosive Remnants of War (ERW). Because these are weapons of war, PCBL also believes that the ultimate or more strategic solution to the landmines problem is not just to ban them but to end war, i.e. to resolve the armed conflicts which occasion the use of landmines by engaging in peace processes.

What does PCBL do and what has it achieved?

PCBL engages the Philippine government, the various rebel groups and the broader civil society to adopt the correct policy, measures, practice, views and action on the landmines issue, guided mainly by IHL, which includes the 1997 Ottawa Treaty and the 1996 Amended Protocol II.

PCBL successfully campaigned as part of the ICBL for the adoption of the 1997 Ottawa Treaty. A PCBL representative was part of the Philippine Delegation to the 1996 Ottawa Conference which launched the record one-year Ottawa Process which led to the treaty. The PCBL then successfully campaigned for the eventual Philippine ratification of the treaty in early 2000. At the start of 2003, PCBL came up with a Draft Bill for a "Philippine Comprehensive Law on Landmines." This PCBL draft bill has been adopted as House Bill No. 1054 and Senate Bill No. 1595 in the current 14th Congress of the Philippines. Working to get this bill passed into law is PCBL's current top priority.

What are the country linkages of PCBL?

At the national level, PCBL has been the long-time Vice-Chair for NGOs of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) IHL National Committee. The NGO Sector here which PCBL works closely with in an informal caucus are Sulong CARHRIHL, Philippine Coalition to Protect Children Involved in Armed Conflict (Protect CIAC), Philippine Action Network on Small Arms (PhilANSA), Balay Rehabilitation Center (BALAY), Philippine Coalition for the International Criminal Court (PCICC), and Philippine Society of International Humanitarian Law (PSIHL). Also in the IHL National Committee are the PNRC, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Manila Delegation, and the Government Sector. At the Mindanao level, PCBL also has links with civil society peace organizations there, namely Bantay Ceasefire, Mindanao People's Caucus, Initiatives for International Dialogue, Tiyakap Kalilintad, Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society, Tulung Lupah Sug, Inc. and Balay Mindanaw.

What are the international linkages of PCBL?

The main international linkage of PCBL is with ICBL which is in itself a vast global network or coalition of humanitarian, human rights, medical, refugee, peace, development and environmental NGOs as well as country campaigns and Landmine Monitor researchers. PCBL has long-time links with ICRC not only in the Philippines but also at the international level in Geneva, particularly the Mines-Arms Unit and the Legal Advisory Service. PCBL has also had good collaboration with the Canadian Embassy. Recently, PCBL established relations of cooperation with the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD, Fondation Suisse de Deminage) for humanitarian mine action in the Philippines, initially in the context of a proposal for GRP-MILF joint mine clearance. Other international linkages of PCBL are with Nonviolence International (NVI)-Southeast Asia and the new South-South Network (SSN) for Non-State Armed Group Engagement.