Hon. Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer

Miriam Coronel Ferrer is a founding member of the Southeast Asian Women Peace Mediators. She was a member of the UN Standby Team of Mediators for three years where she did mediation support work for UN missions in countries like Afghanistan, Maldives, Iraq, and Georgia. Previously, she headed the government panel that negotiated and signed the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

A retired professor of politics at the University of the Philippines (UP), she once served as director of the Third World Studies Center and convener of UP’s Program on Peace, Democratization and Human Rights. She had also served as visiting professor in several Asian universities. Currently, she sits as a member of the board of trustees of the International Crisis Group, and Geneva-based Interpeace. She sits on the advisory boards of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders in New York, the Peace Treaty Initiative of the Institute for Integrated Transitions in Barcelona, and the Negotiations Strategies Institute at Harvard University.

Prof. Coronel-Ferrer has published several books and academic journal articles on democratization, civil society, human rights, and peace processes in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. She was founding co-chair of the Non-State Actors Working Group of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines from 1999-2004, and was one of 27 Filipinas among the 1,000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize nominated in 2005. Also an active peace advocate in her country, she co-led the civil society-initiated drafting of the National Action Plan (NAP) on UN Security Council Resolution 1325. The Philippine NAP was formally adopted by the government in March 2010.

Recent awards received by Prof. Coronel-Ferrer include the 2024 Rotary Peace Award given in the Philippines, the 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Award given in Asia by the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation, the 2015 Hillary Rodham Clinton Award for Advancing Women in Peace and Security given by Georgetown University Institute for Women, Peace and Security, and Xavier University’s 2015 William Masterson, SJ Award. She was listed among five Filipino women in the Forbes Asia 2024 List of 50 over 50.

Prof. Coronel-Ferrer stands as a remarkable exemplar of peacebuilding, whose contributions have left a lasting impact on both national and international efforts for sustainable peace. Through her dedication, expertise, and unwavering commitment to conflict resolution, she has become a key figure in advancing peace in the Philippines and beyond. Prof. Ferrer’s legacy is a powerful reminder of the transformative power of peace in creating a more just and harmonious world.