De Leon on Peace and Development – Through a Diplomatic Lens

By Philippine Ambassador Mario Lopez de Leon, Jr.

Editor’s Note: We publish with permission the full keynote speech of Amb. Mario de Leon Jr. during the UN International Day of Peace celebration at the Kean University in Union Township, NJ on September 20, 2025. The event was spearheaded by the Women’s Federation for World Peace International where de Leon is Senior Advisor for Diplomacy.

Amb. Mario de Leon Jr.: Diplomacy practiced at the human level can bridge divides, preserve dignity and respect, and ensure that peace and development reinforce each other in the lives of ordinary people.

Distinguished colleagues,

I have spent over 30 years as a diplomat, with the rest of my career in regional development. Allow me today to share two experiences from my service that illustrate how peace and development intersect at the community level—one in Europe, and another in Africa.

In the early 2000s, during my posting as Philippine Consul General in the United Kingdom, which included Northern Ireland, I encountered a situation that tested both our diplomatic instincts and our human responsibility. Filipino nurses, recruited from the Philippines and the Middle East, were joining the UK’s National Health Service. Among them was a group from Southern Philippines, housed in the eastern part of Belfast—a predominantly Protestant community still scarred by decades of sectarian conflict.

These nurses, most of whom were women, became targets of local hostility. Their apartment windows were pelted with raw eggs. On their daily commutes, they endured jeers and menacing glances. Reports to authorities and employers were slow to yield results, leaving their sense of security deeply shaken.

They turned to the Embassy in London for help. We intervened not with loud protest, but with quiet, constructive diplomacy. We met with hospital employers, pressed for immediate measures, and secured safer accommodations. We engaged the local police and, with guidance from community officers, reached out to neighborhood elders who could influence the youth directly. We explained that these nurses had not come to compete with locals, but to strengthen the health system—to care for the sick and elderly, including the most vulnerable in their community. That informal dialogue helped minimize, if not fully deter, the bullying attitudes of the youth.

This episode demonstrated that peacebuilding is not only about formal structures. It is also about trust, dialogue, and inclusion at the grassroots level—about genuine people-to-people engagement.

Several years later, in 2010, as Ambassador to South Africa and nine other countries, I faced a different challenge in Maputo, Mozambique, one of the nations I was accredited to. About 600 Filipino migrants lived there—many women English teachers, and others in mining and service industries. A small group of local provocateurs, largely from a disgruntled opposition, had begun stirring unrest reminiscent of the divisions of the country’s recent civil war.

We sought clarity from the Mozambican Foreign Ministry, which assured us the situation was under control. In fact, officials expressed genuine appreciation for the Filipino English teachers, since they wanted their children to learn English—the language of business and international trade. That goodwill helped reinforce confidence in the community.

At the same time, discussions with fellow ambassadors—from Japan, the UK, and others—made clear that we should prepare for any eventuality. We engaged the Catholic diocese, which offered to assist, knowing many Filipinos were Catholics. NGOs, such as Doctors Without Borders, pledged support for evacuation, especially for those in remote mining areas. Finally, I met with the US Ambassador, who assured me that, if evacuation became necessary, her Embassy would provide logistical support to move our nationals safely to South Africa via Swaziland, now Eswatini.

I then reassured the Filipino community of the steps we had taken, urged calm, and advised them to quietly prepare contingency plans. Fortunately, the unrest dissipated within weeks. But the Maputo episode, like the Belfast experience, underscored an essential truth: peace and development are safeguarded not only by governments, but by networks of trust—with foreign partners, NGOs, the Church, and local communities. Partnerships are indispensable.

Most of the affected Filipino migrants in both cases were women—nurses and teachers—whose work was essential to the wellbeing of others. These experiences taught me that peace is more than the absence of conflict, and development is more than economic progress.

This is the enduring lesson I carry: peace and development are two sides of the same coin.  Diplomacy ties the two together so that peace is not only the absence of war, but the presence of justice, opportunity, and security. In summary, diplomacy practiced at the human level can bridge divides, preserve dignity and respect, and ensure that peace and development reinforce each other in the lives of ordinary people. And that, for me, is what Diplomacy, through people-to-people relations, is all about.

Thank you.

De Leon with some WFWP UN representatives and artist Lorena Ramos. L-R: Lorena Ramos, Charlene Bornea, de Leon, Priscilla Garces, Marivir Montebon, Maria Garces, Merly Barlaan, Dr. Remi Alapo, and Dr. Elaine Duval.