PHILIPPINES
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
THIRD CYCLE UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW
27TH SESSION
ADOPTION OF THE UPR WORKING GROUP OUTCOME REPORT
4 pm – 4.30 pm, Thursday, 11 May 2017
Room XX, Palais des Nations
CONCLUDING STATEMENT
Atty. Menardo I. Guevarra
Senior Deputy Executive Secretary
Office of the President of the Philippines
and Head of the Philippine Delegation to the UPR
Thank you, Mr. President.
Your Excellencies,
First of all, I commend the troika of Switzerland, as chair, and Kenya and Paraguay, with the able assistance of the Human Rights Council Secretariat, for an excellent job in preparing the Working Group report on the various recommendations arising from the UPR interactive dialogue with the Philippine delegation on May 8.
Let me also thank once again our fellow member States for their constructive comments and recommendations on the human rights performance of the Philippines. We sincerely appreciate the time and effort that you have given in reviewing our progress and identifying the areas for further improvement. In particular, it is heartwarming that all the 95 member States who delivered interventions have noted one or two positive developments in the human rights performance of our country.
The Philippines continues to uphold the importance of the Universal Periodic Review process. We view it not simply as a matter of State compliance; it is our desire to further strengthen this mechanism as an important measure of the continued relevance of the United Nations Human Rights Council, and of every country’s observance of universally accepted human rights.
We are deeply encouraged by your positive comments highlighting the progress of our work, especially in the following areas: ensuring the enjoyment by our people of socio-economic rights by combatting poverty, especially through the implementation of the Philippine Development Plan for 2017-2022; vigorous efforts to ensure a safe and secure environment for the full enjoyment of the human rights of the greater majority of our people; carrying on with the relentless fight against trafficking-in-persons; the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture; upholding the rights and welfare of vulnerable groups, especially migrant workers, women and children; empowering women and closing gender gaps, as well as the protection of children from exploitation and during times of conflict; and our efforts towards inclusive development, especially in improving access to quality education, health, and other social services.
Mr. President, Your Excellencies,
As soon as our delegation gets back to Manila, we shall convene the Presidential Human Rights Committee, composed of executive agencies that have key roles in advancing human rights, as well as invite representatives from the Legislature and other concerned sectors, to review and determine what actions to take on your numerous recommendations.
The recommendations that we shall eventually accept shall be prioritized for action under the 3rd Philippine Human Rights Plan which is currently being drafted under the administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
Your recommendations shall likewise be a major consideration in the preparation of succeeding periodic reports that the Philippines will submit under the UN treaty body system in line with the eight core international human rights treaties to which the Philippines is a State party. In fact, for this year, the Philippines will submit its reports on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Mr. President,
We also came to this review with the intent to explain as clearly as we could the on-going campaign of our government against illegal drugs. We note that a number of our esteemed colleagues in this body have raised concerns about the extent of the direct and indirect effects of this campaign.
To the best of our ability, we tried to explain the underlying reasons for this campaign; that is, to protect the human rights of the majority of our people who stand to potentially suffer the dire consequences of an unmitigated abuse of illegal drugs, and to set an environment conducive to further socio-economic development. We assure you that our government is not insensitive to your comments, and we shall bilaterally and constructively engage with you on the concerns that you have raised as part of our commitment to continue the dialogue process after this UPR review.
We thank our neighbours in Asia, specifically our colleagues in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, who, by their own first-hand experience, are quite aware of the gravity of our illegal drug problem. Their support finds meaning in the Philippine chairmanship of the ASEAN this year, as we celebrate 50 years of understanding, cooperation and collaboration.
I would also like to express appreciation to our colleagues in East Asia, particularly China and Japan, for expressing their support for what we are doing to rid our country of the scourge of illegal drugs. China has called on other States to join the Philippines in the campaign, and Japan has offered assistance in drug treatment programs and facilities. This show of support gives us much hope for success.
Once again, Mr. President, on behalf of the Philippine delegation, I thank you and our fellow member States for this productive dialogue.