PH Co-hosts Asia-Europe Meeting Seminar on Human Rights and Children in Bulgaria
Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Antonio A. Morales, together with other Filipino participants to the Seminar
27 November 2017 SOFIA — The Philippines co-organized the 17th Informal Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Human Rights Seminar which brought together over 70 experts, professionals, academics, civil society and government officials from Europe and Asia to discuss the status of rights of children in Sofia, Bulgaria on November 07 to 09.
Bulgarian Minister of Labour and Social Policy, Mr. Biser Petrov, in his opening statement, has called for reducing poverty and social exclusion of children. “The multifaceted dimension of child poverty needs an integrated approach to tackle it, including a synergy of the respective sectoral policies,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), Ambassador Karsten Warnecke acknowledged “the exploitation of children as a major challenge for ASEM countries” and highlighted the need “for Asia and Europe to seek viable and appropriate solutions through bilateral and regional dialogue to tackle the persistent problem of child rights’ abuses.”
In his concluding remarks, Ambassador Antonio A. Morales, in his capacity as member of the ASEF Board of Governors, echoed his hope for the seminar to lead to policy recommendations and concrete actions to further strengthen inter-regional action on the rights and welfare of children.
The 17th Seminar was hosted by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and the State Agency for Child Protection, Bulgaria. It was co-organized by ASEF, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, DFA and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland (FDFA). END
For more information, visit www.singaporepe.dfa.gov.ph/ www.philippine-embassy.org.sg or https://www.facebook.com/PHinSingapore
Philippine Ambassador to Singapore, H.E. Antonio A. Morales making his concluding remarks during the 17th Informal ASEM Seminar on Human Rights held on 7-9 November 2017 in Sofia, Bulgaria.