GIZ collaborates with Department of Justice to enhance partners Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) skills

As part of the GIZ project "Promotion of the Rule of Law in Mindanao (RolMin)" and its capacity-building initiative for officials in the Mt. Apo Natural Park (MANP), a course on mediation and conciliation was conducted for officials from partner agencies the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Commission on Human Rights, and local government units of the Project sites. The certification training, attended by 40 participants, aimed to equip the local officials with practical knowledge on mediation and conciliation to enhance their capacities in handling land-related conflicts. Aligned with the project’s focus on women, the training also integrated a gender-sensitive approach to mediation and conciliation. The course was supported by the DOJ with the participation of Undersecretary Irene De Torres Alogoc of the Office for Alternative Dispute Resolution (OADR).

This activity supports one of the components of the Project on expanding and promoting the use of ADR to contribute to the peacebuilding initiatives of GIZ in the Davao region, specifically in MANP. Promotion of ADRs is important in the context of improving access to justice, as this provides community members with more venues where they can escalate complaints.

The 6-day training, 22-27 April, marked the first phase of the activity, with the second phase aiming to capacitate local complaint bodies including the indigenous political structure (IPS) with integrated community ADR, providing more needs-based and context-specific training on conflict resolution.

The RolMin Project is a partnership between GIZ and DENR, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. It aims to reduce the potential for violence and conflict arising from land use and distribution by improving access to justice for communities in the implementing area.