Enhancing CSO’s Capacity for Empowering the Communities towards Bangsamoro Transition

Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society’s SUBATRA Project Team and the Partners Convergences with the BARMM Agencies in Cotabato City

Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society’s Support to Bangsamoro Transition (Subatra) project is a three-year collective and collaborative engagement project to enhance CSO’s capacity to empower the communities towards Bangsamoro transition. The European Union (EU) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) fund the project, which started in October 2021, to contribute to a smooth and timely transition through capacity building of the civil society organizations across BARMM, including the two municipalities- Palimbang in the province of Sultan Kudarat Province and Carmen, North Cotabato, explicitly covers the special activities under the transitional justice component of the CBCS-Subatra Project.

CBCS-Subatra project team, led by Guiamel M. Alim, Project Director, organized a one-day activity on 24 February 2022 at the KFI Conference, Cotabato City, for creating a collaborative platform for continuous convergence: from increasing synergy between the key stakeholders-BARMM agencies, LGUs, and Subatra partners to greater collaboration, coordination, and appreciation for realizing the Subatra program’s objective- “to contribute to a peaceful, cohesive, secure and inclusively developed Bangsamoro.” And, the one-day forum helped to explore possible areas of collaboration and convergence in implementing the Subatra specified activities through sharing insights and recommendations to develop a sustainable platform for coordination/convergence platform between and among these agencies where there is a high recognition on the relevance of complementation and collaboration.

Participated BARMM agencies and the Subatra partners are: Bangsamoro Human Rights Commission, Bangsamoro Women Commission, Bangsamoro Youth Commission, Ministry of Indigenous People Affairs, Ministry of Public Order and Safety, Kadtuntaya Foundation Inc, UNYPHill Women, CDORMM, TLWOi, United Voices Peace Network (UVPN) and the CBCS Program managers of CBCS -Subatra, GCERF, and TAP-G, and collectively interacted in sharing their commitment of convergence for more significant impact.

The forum facilitated by Guiamel Alim, Chair of CBCS, and the partners and the BARMM agencies identified the key areas for collaboration and coordination at the Municipal, provincial, and BARMM level for complementing of legal assistance, information drive on human rights, and human rights advocacy, mediation, capacity building of CSOs, women empowerment, social cohesion, and promotional activities under transitional justice and addressing the issues of Youth at Risks in preventing violent tendencies.

Also, Stean Tshiband, UN Resident’s Coordinator Office (RCO) Area Coordinator, actively engaged with the participants and shared his key functions as the RCO and extended office support for more interactions between Subatra partners, BARMM agencies, and UN Agencies in BARMM.