Philippine Ambassador Carlos Sorreta leads 2nd Edition of the CCM Youth Multimedia Contest
Geneva, 05 March 2025 – The Philippines’ Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Carlos D. Sorreta, in his capacity as the President of the 13th Meeting of the States Parties (MSP) to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), led the launch of the 2025 edition of the Youth for Humanitarian Disarmament Multimedia Contest, with the theme “A Victim-Centred Approach to Peace, Security, Development, and the Convention on Cluster Munitions”, with a lunch reception on 05 March 2025. The day also marked the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness.
Ambassador Sorreta stated that the Philippines’ priorities during its presidency of the CCM are to advance the norms and principles of humanitarian disarmament, especially at a time when they are being challenged, and to further promote accession to this Convention, especially in the Asia Pacific region. He also emphasized the need to further strengthen the prohibitions and regulations of the CCM as a norm of humanitarian law to the point that it would eventually be part of customary norms of international humanitarian law.
Pamela Moraga, director of the CCM Implementation Support Unit, highlighted the detrimental effects of cluster munitions and weapons on peace, security and development, particularly on young people, and encouraged the strengthening of youth engagement, underscoring the uniqueness of their experiences and perspectives, which add value to the discourse on humanitarian disarmament.
Representing the youth sector, Tiffany Guendouz of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) affirmed how the Contest can be a platform for the youth to use multimedia to transcend language barriers and resonate with global audiences.
Julyani Alcocer, the winner of the 2024 edition of the Youth Multimedia Contest under Mexico’s Presidency of the 12th MSP to the CCM, shared that her motivation to learn more about non-proliferation and disarmament and the significance of the youth’s voice on these issues were her inspiration to submit an entry to the contest.
The 2025 edition of the Youth Multimedia Contest focuses on victim assistance and its larger societal impact, which is among the Philippines’ priorities for its presidency of the 13th MSP to the CCM. The contest invites youth aged 18-29 to share experiences and insights on how the CCM and humanitarian disarmament contribute to peace, security, and to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through multimedia submissions.
More information about the contest is available at: https://www.clusterconvention.org/2025-ccm-youth-for-humanitarian-disarmament-multimedia-contest/. END