PH Justice Secretary Participates in Human Rights, Humanitarian Dialogues in Geneva
(Photo courtesy of Secretary Remulla’s Facebook Page)
GENEVA 03 October 2022 – The Philippines’ long-running global engagements on human rights and humanitarian issues uplevels this week with the participation of Department of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla in meetings in Geneva.
The meetings are part of the Philippines’ broader domestic and international engagement on multi-faceted human rights and humanitarian issues, including with sustained advocacies for the rights and welfare of the vulnerable, and solutions-oriented collaborative pathways to human rights promotion and protection in the UN system.
Secretary Remulla’s working visit signifies the high importance attached by the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to human rights and humanitarian affairs.
On 05 October 2022, Secretary Remulla will speak in a panel at the 51st Session of the Human Rights Council to underline the robust national human rights and accountability mechanisms and new institutional reforms under his watch as head of DOJ. He will highlight the United Nations Joint Program on Human Rights (UNJP) as a constructive and people-centered approach to human rights that brings together key stakeholders and is well-integrated within the country-team program of the UN development system.
On 10-11 October 2022, Secretary Remulla will lead the Philippine delegation in the constructive dialogue on the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). As a party to the ICCPR, the Philippines looks forward to engaging with the Human Rights Committee in this periodic review of the national implementation of treaty obligations. Only last month, the Philippines completed its dialogue with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The ICCPR and CRC are two of the eight human rights instruments to which the Philippines is a party.
On 10 October 2022, Secretary Remulla will underscore the Philippines’ strong humanitarian tradition of being a safe haven for refugees, asylum seekers, and stateless persons during the 73rd Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioners’ Program, where at least 29 other Ministers are speaking. Secretary Remulla will echo the call for the international system protect vulnerable groups and persons of concern, and reiterate the Philippines’ commitment to global burden and responsibility-sharing.
Secretary Remulla will also meet with Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif and High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi to discuss how the Philippines’ can scale up its cooperation with the Office of the High Commissior for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), respectively. END