Philippines to Co-Chair the 2025 Social Forum at the 

United Nations in Geneva

GENEVA 04 August 2025 — Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Carlos D. Sorreta, was recently appointed by Jürg Lauber, President of the Human Rights Council, as Co-Chair-Rapporteur of “The Social Forum”, which will be held on 30-31 October 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland. Ambassador Sorreta will preside over the forum together with Anita Pipan, Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the United Nations in Geneva.

The Social Forum is a space for open dialogue between governments and civil society, including grassroots organizations, and intergovernmental organizations on “issues linked with the national and international environment needed for the promotion of the enjoyment of all human rights by all”.

It was first organized in 2002 with the theme “Globalization, the right to adequate food and poverty reduction”, pursuant to decision 2002/106 adopted by the Commission on Human Rights (the predecessor of the Human Rights Council). The goal of the forum is “to promote social cohesion based on the principles of social justice, equity and solidarity as well as addressing the social dimension and challenges of the ongoing globalization process”.

Since then, the Social Forum has been organized every year, discussing the nexus between human rights and such topics such as development; climate change; access to medicines; the HIV epidemic and other communicable diseases; sports and the Olympic ideal; children and youth; older persons; the COVID-19 pandemic; science, technology, and innovation; water; and financing for development, among others.

This year’s focus is on the contribution of education to the respect, promotion, protection, and fulfillment of all human rights for all.

“Education is our first line of defense against discrimination, intolerance, and other threats to human dignity and the enjoyment of all human rights and freedoms. This has become even more evident in the current global climate of conflict, change, and complex challenges. This is why the Philippines has been a strong voice for human rights education in the multilateral domain. We have taken the lead, together with Slovenia and other like-minded countries, in advancing this agenda in the Human Rights Council. Our Co-Chairship of the 2025 Social Forum in October is in furtherance of this longstanding advocacy,” Ambassador Sorreta said.

In September 2024, the Philippines led the negotiations on the Human Rights Council resolution, which was adopted by consensus, launching the Fifth Phase of the World Programme on Human Rights Education. The Plan of Action for the Fifth Phase focuses on the link between human rights and digital technologies, the environment and climate change, and gender equality, and with children and youth as target populations.

The idea of a Social Forum was first discussed in 1997 in response to concerns about globalization’s impact on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. It was launched in 2002 on the initiative of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, a subsidiary body of the defunct Commission on Human Rights.

The Human Rights Council, established in 2006 to replace the CHR, decided to continue the Social Forum and expanded its mandate to cover the whole gamut of human rights and issues that may impact on people’s enjoyment of the same. The Social Forum submits a report to the Human Rights Council comprising of a summary of proceedings, conclusions and recommendations. END

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