UN Special Rapporteur Visit will Witness Vitality of PH Democracy
20 January 2024 – Upon the invitation of the government, the UN Special Rapporteur (SR) on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Ms. Irene Khan, will pay a country visit to the Philippines from January 23 to February 2, 2024.
This visit is an opportunity for the Special Rapporteur to appreciate the well-rooted and flourishing democracy of the Philippines, as the oldest democratic Republic in Asia, as seen in the vibrant media landscape and civic space.
The government is confident that through meaningful dialogues and meetings with government, media, civil society organizations and other stakeholders, Ms. Khan will see for herself the transparency and progressive agenda of the government with respect to the promotion and protection of freedom of speech and expression.
This visit signifies the open, sustained and sincere cooperation of the Philippine government with bilateral and regional partners and the UN, on many fronts, where the country promotes its human rights-based development agenda and good governance as well as its contributions in strengthening global norms to uphold human rights and dignity.
Ms. Khan is the third SR to pay a country visit to the Philippines in 14 months, following the SR for the sale and exploitation of children, Mme. Fatimah Singhateh in November 2022 and the SR for Climate Change and Human Rights, Dr. Ian Fry in November 2023. The SR for extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Mr. Morris Tidball-Binz, was invited by the Department of Justice for an academic visit in February 2023.
Philippine engagements with UN Special Rapporteurs also include meetings undertaken by Undersecretary Severo Catura of the Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat (PHRCS), the most recent of which took place in July 2023 on the sidelines of the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
A signatory to all eight core human rights treaties, the Philippines has completed five (5) constructive dialogues in the span of 14 months starting with the Committee on Rights of the Child and the Human Rights Committee (on civil and political rights) in September and October 2022, respectively. In 2023, it had dialogues with the Committee on Migrant Workers,the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in March, April, and October 2023, respectively. The Philippines successfully completed its 4th Universal Periodic Review in November 2022.
In December 2023, the Philippines welcomed the Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture for a country visit pursuant to our obligation under Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT).
The Philippines cooperates in good faith with international human rights mechanisms, and supports funding for cooperation to build human rights capacities in developing countries.
The Philippines takes pride in its human rights agenda, built over decades and across different administrations, which has set important benchmarks in the protection and promotion of the rights of various marginalized communities, including migrant workers, women, children, indigenous peoples, refugees, stateless persons, individuals with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups. END