Civil society organizations, diplomats meet to discuss implementation of the UNJP on Human Rights

Around 24 representatives from various civil society organizations (CSOs) met on Wednesday, March 22, at the Luxent Hotel, Quezon City, to learn more about the implementation of the United Nations Joint Program (UNJP) on human rights and discuss CSO strategies and activities in line with its objectives. Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC), as one of the 3 CSO representatives in the Steering Committee of the UNJP, presented an overview of the strategic objectives of the 6 technical working groups of the UNJP based on their November 2022 planning that took place in Clark, Pampanga.  The meeting provided a platform for CSOs to also share among each other inputs and strategies that are aligned with or complement the UNJP.

After the meeting among CSOs, a diplomatic briefing took place which was facilitated by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The new UNJP Program Coordinator, Mr. Andrew Pearlman, guaranteed that the UNJP secretariat is now more equipped to fast-track and monitor the activities of each technical working group.

CSO members vowed to continue to monitor the UNJP activities and strategize ways to contribute to its implementation. They have also reiterated the need to create a CSOs collaborative platform to ensure that CSOs–even those which are not part of any of the 6 TWGs of the UNJP–are updated and consulted on UNJP activities. The diplomatic community supported the plan emphasizing its willingness to contribute to initiatives that seek to complement the UNJP.

It can be recalled that in July 2021, the United Nations and the Philippine government inked a joint program on human rights—the UNJP. This joint venture is focused on fostering capacity-building and technical cooperation on specific areas of human rights in the country. These areas include (i) strengthening domestic investigation and accountability mechanisms, (ii) data gathering on alleged police violations, (iii) civic space and engagement with civil society and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), (iv) national mechanism for reporting and follow up, (v) counter-terrorism legislation, and (vi) human rights-based approaches to drug control.

The diplomatic community in the meetings is represented by the Embassy of Australia, the Embassy of Germany, the Embassy of Switzerland, the Embassy of the United Kingdom, the Embassy of the United States, and the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator.

Aside from the AHRC, as represented by its Executive Director Atty. Ray Paolo Santiago, another CSO member of the UNJP Steering Committee present was Dr. Elmer Soriano of the Asian Drug Policy Consortium.  

The AHRC, with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, facilitated the 2 events as part of its Bridging the UNJP advocacy.