Together We Stand

[ 106 ] the regional and national promotion of international humani- tarian law and international disaster law, respectively. Partnership with foreign armed forces through the concept of humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) was a prominent feature of Haiyan response operations. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) established the Multi-National Coordinating Center (MNCC) for Haiyan, building on its regular mechanisms for its annual military exercises with the United States and other allies. MNCC seamlessly coordinated the HADR contributions of the numerous national military contingents deployed during Haiyan. Good governance, transparency and accountability, fundamen- tal policy planks of the Philippine Government, were emphasized for Haiyan through the Foreign Aid Transparency Hub (FAITH). FAITH, a government website platform, indicated the amount and types of assistance given by international partners. In the arena of international humanitarian policy development the Philippines has played a leading role in promoting the theme of partnership. Manila played host to the secondDisaster Response Dialogue (DRD) global conference in 2014. The DRD, initiated by the Swiss Government, OCHA, IFRC and the International Council of Volunteer Agencies in 2011, brought together the various humanitarian sectors in earnest dialogue. At the 2011 DRD conference the Philippines emphasized the need to address the tendency of the ‘big’ international humanitarian stakeholders to neglect engagement with the governments of states affected by crisis and the Global South. DRD 2014’s main finding was the fundamental importance of establishing trust among humanitar- ian partners. These findings were catalytic in the development of the World Humanitarian Summit themes, (particularly on part- nership). The DRD process itself was integrated into the summit. Other significant regional conferences for global initiatives hosted by the Philippines stressing humanitarian partner- ship included the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development and the Nansen Initiative (on climate change and natural disaster-induced cross-border displacement) in 2014, and the Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes (GAAMAC) in 2016. GAAMAC emphasizes the development of national archi- tectures to detect and prevent mass atrocity crimes. The Philippines’ advocacy in the landmark international conferences, in 2015 on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai and Climate Change in Paris, was to highlight the need to fully partner with vulnerable sectors, particularly women, migrants and indigenous peoples. In Paris, the Philippines led the Climate Vulnerable Forum, a partnership of the states most vulner- able to climate change. Championing the vulnerable is also the Philippines’ advocacy in the World Humanitarian Summit. The Philippines is looking to transition from humanitarian aid recipient to humanitarian ‘new donor’ status. While it is limited in its ability to provide immediate relief support for other countries, the Philippines can share its good practices in longer-term recovery and reconstruction, and in the building of resilience. The Philippines will leverage south-south and triangular partnerships to assist countries in need, as well as tap its experts already in place globally among its Foreign Service and diaspora. The ‘Cascos Blancos’ or ‘White Helmets’ approach pioneered by Argentina is being adopted. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the Philippines’ core regional organization — a vibrant partner- ship of 10 Asian nations. In 2009, the organization launched the first legally-binding DRRM regional framework, the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER). Its operational mechanism, based in the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, is the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre). Both the AHA Centre and ASEAN members come to each other’s assis- Image: Department of Foreign Affairs, Phillipines Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman (centre) at the second global Disaster Response Dialogue, Manila in 2014 T ogether W e S tand