15 July 2013 - Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario appointed Philippine Ambassador to ASEAN Elizabeth P. Buensuceso to represent the Philippines in the Governing Council of the newly created ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR).
As the Philippine Representative to the Governing Council of the AIPR, Ambassador Buensuceso will help formulate the guidelines and procedures for the activities of the AIPR, exercise overall responsibility for its funds, approve its annual operating budget, and perform such other functions as may be necessary to carry out the objectives of the AIPR. The Governing Council is expected to meet twice a year.
The Philippine representative to the Advisory Board of the AIPR is Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process. The Advisory Board of the AIPR shall advise the Governing Council on the research priorities for the AIPR.
The AIPR was launched at the 21st ASEAN Summit held in Phnom Penh from November 18 to 20, 2012. Its mandate is to be the ASEAN institution for research activities on peace, conflict management and conflict resolution as requested by ASEAN Member States. It will be based in Jakarta.
The appointments of Secretary Deles and Ambassador Buensuceso were announced at the recently concluded ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Bandar Seri Begawan.
Aside from being a member of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) to ASEAN and Philippine Representative to the Governing Council of AIPR, Ambassador Buensuceso is also the country's representative to the ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee (ACCC), the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Task Force, the Board of Trustees of the ASEAN Foundation and the Joint Consultative Committees (JCCs) of ASEAN with its 10 Dialogue Partners.
The CPR, which is also based in Jakarta, is the regional coordinating body of ASEAN. All ASEAN Member States are represented in the CPR. The CPR supports the work of the ASEAN Coordinating Committee composed of ASEAN foreign ministers and the three ASEAN Community Councils (Political-Security, Economic and Socio-Cultural), liaises with the ASEAN Secretary General and Secretariat, and facilitates ASEAN cooperation with external partners.
The CPR approves project proposals from ASEAN Member States and endorses the budgets of the ASEAN Secretariat and the AICHR for approval of ASEAN foreign ministers. It provides valuable inputs to foreign ministers and other senior officials to ensure that all ASEAN agreements are implemented effectively. END