UN special rapporteur to visit PH
A UNITED Nations special rapporteur (SR) accepted an invitation from the Philippine government to visit the country next week, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Saturday.
Irene Khan, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, will be in Manila from Jan. 23 to Feb. 2, 2024.
In a statement posted on its official website, the DFA said that this visit would be “an opportunity for the Special Rapporteur to appreciate the well-rooted and flourishing democracy of the Philippines, as the oldest democratic Republic in Asia, as seen in the vibrant media landscape and civic space.”
“The government is confident that through meaningful dialogues and meetings with government, media, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders, Ms. Khan will see for herself the transparency and progressive agenda of the government concerning the promotion and protection of freedom of speech and expression,” the DFA said.
The DFA said that the visit “signifies the open, sustained, and sincere cooperation of the Philippine government with bilateral and regional partners and the UN, on many fronts, where the country promotes its human rights-based development agenda and good governance, as well as its contributions to strengthening global norms to uphold human rights and dignity.”
Khan is the third SR to visit the Philippines in 14 months, following the SR for the sale and exploitation of children, Fatimah Singhateh, in November 2022, and the SR for climate change and human rights, Dr. Ian Fry, in November 2023.
The SR for extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Morris Tidball-Binz, was invited by the Department of Justice (DoJ) for an academic visit in February 2023.
Philippine engagements with UN special rapporteurs also include meetings undertaken by Undersecretary Severo
Catura of the Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat, the most recent of which took place in July 2023 on the sidelines of the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
A signatory to all eight core human rights treaties, the Philippines has completed five constructive dialogues in 14 months, starting with the Committee on Rights of the Child and the Human Rights Committee (on civil and political rights) in September and October 2022, respectively.
In 2023, it held dialogues with the Committee on Migrant Workers, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in March, April and October 2023, respectively.
The Philippines completed its 4th Universal Periodic Review in November 2022.
In December 2023, the Philippines welcomed the Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture for a visit under the country’s obligation to the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture.