Starting Point
Professor Miriam Coronel Ferrer co-founded the Southeast Asian Women Peace Mediators. She served on the UN Standby Team of Mediators for three years, where she participated in missions in Afghanistan, the Maldives, Iraq, and Georgia. She previously led the Philippine government panel that negotiated the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2014.
As a retired professor of politics at the University of the Philippines, she directed the Third World Studies Centre. She was deeply involved in initiatives promoting peace, democratisation, and human rights. Currently, she serves on the Boards of the International Crisis Group and Interpeace, as well as various advisory boards.
Peace Journey
She has a remarkable accomplishment in peace negotiations. She served as the chief negotiator for the Philippine government during the Mindanao Peace Talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in 2012. In 2014, she became the first woman globally to sign a final peace accord with a rebel group.
Prior to her government role, she was deeply engaged in civil society initiatives. She played a key role in establishing the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security, which the government implemented in 2010. Additionally, she organised peace advocacy groups and co-chaired the Non-State Action Working Group of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines from 1999 to 2004.
From 2018 to 2021, she was a member of the UN Standby Team of Senior Mediators. She assisted the UN in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, the Maldives, and the ASEAN region in this capacity, guiding the design of peace processes and inclusion strategies. Currently, she is a professor at the University of the Philippines, where she writes on comparative governments, peace processes, and democratisation.
Success Stories
As a prominent peace advocate, she co-led the drafting of the Philippine National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325, adopted in 2010. Notably, she became the first woman globally to sign a significant peace agreement with a non-state armed group and oversaw its implementation until June 2016.
Prof. Ferrer has also received numerous prestigious awards, including the 2024 Rotary Peace Award, the 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Award, and the 2015 Hillary Rodham Clinton Award for Women, Peace, and Security, presented by Georgetown University. She has an extensive publication record on democratisation and peace processes and has co-chaired the Non-State Actors Working Group in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.