COTABATO CITY (August 24, 2022)—The Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC) officially launched its Positive Peace Project (3Peace) for young combatants during the celebration of the International Youth Day (IYD) 2022 on August 24, at SKCC Complex, Bangsamoro Government Center, Cotabato City.
The project primarily aims to codevelop a flagship program centered on civic engagement, leadership, management, peace promotion and entrepreneurship in aid of producing positive reintegration outcomes among identified vulnerable youth combatants of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) across the region.
The youth combatants will be given viable socio–economic opportunities such as trainings on leadership, technical – vocational skills, and entrepreneurship that is according to their interest, and yield appropriate policy actions from policy research at the end of the project.
Former combatants will undergo major identity transformation processes to become productive and functional civilians in their respective communities through a series of activities such as disarmament, provision of socio-economic benefits, confidence-building measures, and camp transformation, among others.
It will institutionalize a mechanism of youth development recognized by relevant institutions in Bangsamoro, it comes in four components: needs assessment, capacity development and cooperative formation, awarding of seed grants, and evaluation and policy research writing.
Partner agencies in implementing the project will also help in monitoring the progress of the beneficiaries especially in moving their own cooperative business and transformation of their lives even after the timeframe of the project.
The initiative was primarily implemented through a series of visitations to the identified six major camps and island-based camps of the MILF and MNLF across the region.
3Peace will be the flagship program of the BYC in empowering the ex-rebels ensuring the mitigation of issues that impede their meaningful reintegration, lessening tendencies of re-/recruitment to extremist groups, and relapse of violent behaviors.
The program will help the commission in crafting policies that seek to protect their rights and welfare, and ensure their functionality in the society.
It is part of BYC’s Special Development Fund for 2021. (BYC PR UNIT/AAA)
