Bangsamoro self-rule key to ending conflict in Mindanao

By Abhoud Syed M. Lingga

COTABATO CITY — This paper suggests that recognition of the fundamental right of peoples to self-determination opens a window of opportunity to resolve conflicts peacefully, whether or not they are explicitly stated as a struggle for self-determination. This is particularly true in Mindanao, where the Bangsamoro liberation fronts assert sovereign rights in the same territory over which the Philippine government already exercises sovereign power. Implementing the right of self-determination of the Bangsamoro people can usher in peace in Mindanao.

Self-determination as a Right

The right to self-determination is the right of peoples everywhere to freely determine their political status, and to freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. The right to self-determination has political, economic, social and cultural aspects. For this right to be fully effective, the realization of the political, economic, social and cultural sovereignty of peoples is crucial.

Self-determination is a continuing process where people continue to make choices to achieve human security and to fulfill human needs.

The right of peoples to self-determination is enshrined in many United Nations instruments, among which are:

* Article 55 of the United Nations charter, which provides that the world body shall create “conditions of stability and well-being which are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples . . .”

* General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, which states that, “All peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.”

* Article 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and repeated in Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which makes this statement: “All peoples have the right of self-determination, including the right to determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.”

On the other hand, there are U.N. instruments that uphold the principle of territorial integrity of existing states. Whether people who claim right to self-determination and are living within the boundary of existing states are prohibited to disrupt the territorial integrity of a country is not clear in the U.N. Resolutions. The assertion of minorities to self-determination is usually not only a claim to determine the political status of a people but also includes a claim to territory. If minorities are defined as people and they decided to form their own states, this will result to dismemberment of existing states.

Article 2 (4) of the U.N. charter provides, “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state . . .” This provision, unmistakably, applies only as between states. It prohibits member states from using force to threaten the political independence and territorial integrity of any state.