In a speech before international delegates attending the 6th Asia-Pacific-Middle East Regional Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the President called for "a chain of strong republics across the region, traversing the Pacific, Asia and the Middle East so that we can strive to ensure our collective security against terror and transnational crimes and build societies that would help one another defeat poverty."
According to TIME magazine, "Filipinos need no reminding that they are squarely in the sights of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)," and the presence of US troops make the Philippines an "even more tempting" target.
"Equally worrying is that recent Mindanao bombings suggest that Abu Sayyaf has returned to its roots as a terrorist organization rather than kidnap and extortion gang," TIME wrote.
TIME also wrote that possible JI targets, aside from obvious sites such as foreign embassies and the Pandacan oil depot near Malacañang, include the Philippine Stock Exchange, major shopping malls and flyovers in Manila.
The Red Cross and Red Crescent, Mrs. Arroyo said, are humanitarian organizations that send volunteers to any country to help people victimized by disasters, internal strife, and lately, terrorist attacks.
"Even as we must stand uncompromisingly against the dark forces that seek to destroy humanity, we must work with compassion to uplift the poorest of the poor, heal the sick, teach the ignorant," she said.
However, the President said she would rather see these humanitarian organizations also actively involved in the campaign to address the problem of poverty as the breeding ground of internal conflict, terrorism, and transnational crimes.
"Today, terrorist incidents are becoming the most serious disaster. And I thank the work of Red Cross and Red Crescent in soothing the suffering of the victims of terrorism even as I ask (them) to elevate other issues related to conflicts or terrorism to a higher place in the agenda of (their) action and advocacy plans," she said.
Mrs. Arroyo added that she has spelled out in her State of the Nation Address the vital reforms her administration will implement in order to build a "strong republic" and win the war against poverty in the Philippines within the decade.
The President again thanked the two humanitarian organizations "for making (it) easier" for the Philippine government to undertake relief and rehabilitation of the evacuees displaced by the recent war waged in Mindanao by her predecessor against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
"We have a ceasefire in place with MILF, and the MILF has started to organize (its) own NGO that will undertake development projects and receive assistance," she said.
Mrs. Arroyo noted that in the former Camp Abubakar, which used to be the "center of gravity of the secessionist rebellion," there is now the "bustle of community development."
The President also enlisted the support and cooperation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent for a region-wide "active campaign" against the employment of children and minors in combat as a serious challenge to the community of civilized nations.
She also cited the presence of Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom at the conference.
"I’m very honored and we are all honored as Filipinos as Princess Margaret is here because causes are more successful when there are symbols and Princess Margaret is a symbol," Mrs. Arroyo said.
Princess Margaret, she noted, "epitomizes the woman in humanitarian work around the world."
The President said that everyone "must all be workers for humanity, especially in this challenging age of terrorism, internal wars, widespread ignorance, disease, and injustice."
The Red Cross and Red Crescent, on the other hand, urged Asian governments to ratify existing migrant and refugee conventions to improve conditions for six million displaced people in the region.
Asia "hosts the largest number of refugees in the world – approximately six million – but it also has the fewest ratifications of the major human rights conventions, including the 1951 Refugee Convention," the emergency assistance groups said in a statement.
Ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, adopted by the UN General Assembly 12 years ago, would send a clear message about Asian governments’ commitment to helping refugees, the statement said.
The convention needs 20 signatures before it can enter into force, and has been ratified by only 19 countries.
Access to basic rights for millions of migrants – subject to social exclusion as well as racism and discrimination – could be improved if more governments ratified the existing conventions.
"We need to confront attitudes that discriminate against migrants and refugees. People are struggling to have even the basic right of access to health care. Population movement has left a trail of poverty, vulnerability and social exclusion in its wake," said secretary-general Didier Cherpitel.
"It is very disturbing that many Asian countries have yet to sign and ratify the international conventions that would protect the rights of migrants and refugees," Cherpitel said, though he declined to name specific countries.
Meanwhile, the European Commission (EC) confirmed its willingness to provide the Philippine government with technical and financial assistance in the fight against international terrorism.
The assistance will cover financial law and practice as well as police and law enforcement work.
The EC is heavily engaged in many parts of the world, assisting partner countries in building effective law enforcement institutions, improving border management, and fighting against money laundering and arms trafficking.
A team of experts from the EC and member states of the European Union will be in Manila next week to discuss the Philippine government’s specific needs. – with AFP