Justice Secretary Back in Geneva to Update UN on PH Progress in Human Rights

GENEVA, 27 February 2023 – Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla will update the United Nation’s Human Rights Council (HRC) and other partners on progress in the government’s justice sector reforms under the Marcos administration’s larger human rights and development agenda at the upcoming 52nd Regular Session of the HRC, which will open in Geneva, Switzerland on 27 February 2023. 

Secretary Remulla will lead the Philippine delegation comprising officials from the Department of Justice and the Permanent Mission of the Philippines in Geneva. 

On 28 February 2023, Secretary Remulla will join the panel discussion on Prison and Justice Sector Reforms and Human Rights organized by the Permanent Missions to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva of the Philippines, Norway, and Thailand. He will share developments in ongoing initiatives to strengthen the country’s criminal justice system, particularly decongesting jail and detention facilities, de-clogging courts, and improving access to justice by vulnerable sectors. 

On 01 March 2023, Secretary Remulla will speak at the High-Level Segment of the 52nd Regular Session of the HRC to underline the importance of upholding sovereignty and harnessing international solidarity in the promotion and protection of human rights. 

Secretary Remulla is scheduled to meet with H.E. Václav Bálek, President of the Human Rights Council, Mr. Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and other high-level officials from partner countries. 

Secretary Remulla’s visit builds on the series of substantive and constructive engagements of the Philippines last year with the HRC, UN human rights treaty bodies and mechanisms, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders on human rights issues. 

Last year, the Philippines underwent two constructive dialogues with human rights treaty bodies, an enhanced interactive dialogue with the HRC, and the 4th Universal Periodic Review. END 

For more information, visit https://www.genevapm.dfa.gov.ph,  https://www.facebook.com/PHinGeneva/, or https://www.instagram.com/phingeneva/.