Peace Agreements and the Law of Peace: A Consultative Paper Exploring Issues Relevant to Peace Processes in the Philippines

Abstract:     
While peace processes must find solutions specific to the nature of the conflict they address, they can also benefit from comparison with how other countries have attempted to resolve their conflicts in peace agreements. This paper below draws on my work on comparative peace processes and agreements to examine central issues in peace negotiations, and the ways in which a lex pacificatoria or ‘law of the peacemakers’ has emerged. I examine, in particular political and constitutional reform (part II) and social and economic reform (part III), pointing to the types of solution the ‘law of the peace makers’ suggests in these areas. In conclusion I examine how to build support for peace processes (part III). The paper was commissioned by International Alert, to inform the Philippines peace process, It does not aim to suggest particular solutions to conflicts in the Philippines, but rather aims to re-frame how peacemakers and advocates understand and approach legal issues relating to constitutional reform and socio-economic issues.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 44

Keywords: peace agreements, law of peace, Philippines

working papers series