SECRETARY LOCSIN UNDERSCORES PEACE, FREEDOM, AND JUSTICE AT THE CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS SUMMIT

Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. delivers remarks at the Closing Ceremony of the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s Human Rights Summit on10 December 2020 (DFA-OSCR).

MANILA 12 December 2020 –  “We want peace with freedom above all and imperatively through the tightest adhrence to justice.” This was the key message of Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. in his remarks at the Closing Ceremony of the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s Human Rights Summit on 10 December 2020, which also coincided with the International Human Rights Day.

With the Summit’s theme “Peace is the work of justice,” Secretary Locsin emphasized the importance of ensuring that the wheels of justice go on turning, accountability mechanisms are firmly in place and working, and abuses by those who enforce the law and those who violate laws are punished. He also stressed the need to uphold the laws which necessarily and foremost include the protection of human rights, including the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.  

Secretary Locsin also emphasized that the Summit is about encouraging new forms of partnerships and inspiring more action, including through the UN Joint Program on Human Rights (UNJP) between the PH Government and the UN, through its UN Resident Coordinator (UNRC) Gustavo González. The UNJP, with six key areas of cooperation, is already being formally drafted towards its finalization.

The Human Rights Summit was convened by the DOJ, led by the Administrative Order 35 Secretariat, on 7, 9, and 10 December 2020 as part of the observance of the National Human Rights Consciousness Week (NHRCW).

The Summit brought together government, civil society, UN partners, and other stakeholders in a series of webinars to raise public awareness of how the work of justice helps bring about peaceful, inclusive societies, and ensures sustainable development.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) organized one of the webinars during the Summit on “The Human Rights Guarantees in the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations” held on 9 December 2020.

The full remarks of Secretary Locsin at the Closing Ceremony may be viewed here while the text can be accessed here. END