[Inquirer] Lead peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer received the Hillary Rodham Clinton Award for Advancing Women in Peace and Security Thursday at Georgetown University, declaring, "We have gone this far in our peace process. There should be no turning back.""The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro acknowledges a different narrative of our national being, one that would bridge our majority-minority divide toward a shared future where fellow-Filipinos live in peace under one flag in an undivided territory," she said.
Coronel-Ferrer, chair of the government peace panel negotiating with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, received the award from no less than Hillary Clinton herself. Hillary cited Coronel-Ferrer as a concrete example of a woman who has brought to life UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security by being the first woman ever to chair a negotiating panel on behalf of a government in a peace process. She also recognized women as agents of change, drivers of progress, and makers of peace.
Clinton said, "Peace and security are only possible when women have a seat at the table. I’ve seen this in so many different ways in so many different places."
Coronel-Ferrer highlighted the important role women played in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in her acceptance speech. She said, "Three out of six government signatories to the agreement are women, with myself as the chair. The MILF panel was all men. In all, just three of the 12 signatories are women. Still, it’s a big leap: nearly all past negotiations were exclusively done by men.
“These three women were not alone. They were backed up by a strong and active contingent of women outside of the formal table. From them, we got the strength and fortitude to see the process through, a delightful dynamic of women inspiring fellow women."
