PH Mission in Geneva Hosts Consultation Meeting on Enhancing UN Human Rights Office’s Work on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva and Asia Pacific Group Coordinator Evan P. Garcia, chairs the consultation meeting between the Asia Pacific Group of states in the UN Human Rights Council and the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights on 09 May 2023 in Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. (Geneva PM photo)

GENEVA, 12 May 2023 – Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organizations and Coordinator of the Asia Pacific Group (APG) of states in the United Nations Human Rights (HRC) Evan P. Garcia facilitated a consultation meeting between the APG and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on 09 May 2023 to exchange views on how best to strengthen the OHCHR’s capacity to fulfill its mandate to promote and protect economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) in the context of pandemic recovery efforts. 

Mr. Pradeep Wagle, Chief of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Section of the OHCHR, outlined the challenges to the realization of ESCR, including worsening inequalities, conflicts and social unrest which were aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and states’ debt burden, and other global challenges. There is a need to put ESCR and civil and political rights on an equal footing in terms of allocation of financial resources to the OHCHR. The OHCHR is the main UN organ tasked to promote and protect human rights in all its dimensions.

“As our countries work towards full and comprehensive pandemic recovery, it is crucial that human rights remain at the core of national and global strategies to achieve the larger objective of inclusive and sustainable development. Global challenges, especially the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, have compounded structural inequalities within and between nations undermining a whole gamut of economic, social and cultural rights. The OHCHR should play an important role in helping states fulfill their ESCR obligations. There is indeed merit in re-examining the OHCHR’s work orientation and institutional strengths and weaknesses in view of imbalances in the attention and resources devoted to ESCR and civil and political rights issues,” Ambassador Garcia stated. 

A number of APG delegations stressed the importance of truly upholding the indivisibility of human rights and reversing the apparent de-prioritization of ESCR over civil political rights in the work of UN human rights mechanisms, particularly the OHCHR, and creating an enabling multilateral economic and financial architecture for the realization of the right to development. 

Inputs gathered in the consultation will feed into the report being prepared by the OHCHR on its vision for reinforcing its work in promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as mandated by HRC resolution A/HRC/RES/49/19 adopted in 08 April 2022. The High Commissioner will present said report at the 54th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council. END 

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