PH Highlights Partnership with the UN in Enhancing Inclusive Rights-Based Approach in Pursuit of Nat’l Dev’t Agenda
Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva Ambassador Evan P. Garcia during the 2nd Intersessional Meeting of the Human Rights Council for Dialogue and Cooperation on Human Rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development held on 03 December 2019. (Geneva PM photo)
GENEVA 19 December 2019 — Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva Ambassador Evan P. Garcia highlighted national efforts to further mainstream human rights-based approach in the development agenda of the country during the 2nd Intersessional Meeting of the Human Rights Council for Dialogue and Cooperation on Human Rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development held on 03 December 2019 at the Palais des Nations, Geneva.
Under the theme “Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development”, Ambassador Garcia welcomed the continuation of the discussion on promoting linkages between human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The Philippines convened last month, in partnership with the UN Resident Coordinator and the UN Senior Human Rights Adviser, a national workshop on Agenda 2030, Leaving No One Behind, and Human Rights, with the aim of further enhancing the integration of a human rights-based approach in development planning and programming anchored in the development roadmaps Ambisyon Natin 2040 and the Philippine Development Plan," the Ambassador remarked.
The Ambassador elaborated that “the national workshop provided an opportunity to highlight the role of each government worker as a human rights advocate and of each government agency as a human rights institution. Human rights are continuously being mainstreamed in the work of our agencies. This includes the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, the Department of Health, the Department of Interior and Local Government, as well as local government units. Our Department of Education has created a child rights office that oversees the implementation of the broader rights of the child in the basic education context, in addition to the child protection program, for the country’s over 27 million basic education students.”
The development of the Philippine Development Plan involved an inculsive and participatory process where all relevant stakeholders were consulted and given the opportunity to provide inputs, while "Ambisyon Natin 2040" involved a bottoms-up visioning process where citizens articulated their aspirations for themselves and the country in the next 20 years.
Ambassador Garcia announced that the Philippines would be convening succeeding national workshops on the human rights and SDG nexus early next year where participants would be encouraged to review the sectoral strategies, and work plans of their respective agencies and identify areas where the human rights-based approach, and the principle “Leaving No One Behind” can be best incorporated. “This is intended to also provide an opportunity for agencies to assess and share progress on the implementation of accepted recommendations made by states during the third Universal Periodic Review of the Philippines in 2017, particularly in promoting and fulfilling economic, social, and cultural rights, and the right to development” Ambassador Garcia further said.
He also cited the active engagement of the Philippines with international human rights mechanisms, in particular with United Nations (UN) treaty bodies and the States at the Universal Periodic Review process, which has provided valuable insights, information and recommendations useful to strengthen the work in the promotion and protection of human rights of all. “The Philippines was among the first States that reported under the Voluntary National Review mechanism and it continues to engage the UN and other States towards the improvement of the review and implementation of the SDG agenda,” the Philippine Ambassador concluded. END
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