A three-man body – led by Chris Rush – of the Geneva Call are in Mindanao and are presently investigating the Philippine government’s accusation that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) allegedly used landmines in the Mindanao conflict, a violation of the global ban on the use of anti-personnel mines.

Geneva Call, or Appel de Geneve in its Swiss name, is “a neutral and impartial humanitarian organization dedicated to engaging non-state actors (NSAs) towards compliance with IHL (International Humanitarian Law) and IHRL (International Human Rights Law) norms, consistent with common Article 3 of Geneva Conventions.”

Geneva Call seeks to prevent the use of anti-personnel mines in conflicts across the world which “maim and kill civilians and combatants indiscriminately, even long after hostilities have ended.”

The MILF is one of the 39 NSAs that signed Geneva Call’s “Deed of Commitment for Adherence to a Total Ban on Anti-Personnel Mines and for Cooperation in Mine Action.”

MILF leaders have repeatedly denied using landmines in the conflict in Mindanao and stressed their fidelity to Geneva Call’s anti-personnel mines agreement.

Rush and his colleagues were in the villages of Kitango in Datu Saudi Ampatuan and Tuka na Lipao in Mamasapano, all in Maguindanao; and in Aleosan, North Cotabato, and Matanog, Maguindanao, on Saturday accompanied by the military on their investigation.