Cayetano, Guevarra to lead PH Delegation for Universal Periodic Review

The 16-man delegation team from the Philippines, led by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra, attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, Switzerland on May 8 (Monday), left early Thursday morning.

The team will present the human rights-based development programs of the Philippines and the measures adopted to fulfill its obligations to the eight (8) International treaties ratified in the past years.

The delegation includes representatives from the Presidential Human Rights Committee, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the National Economic Development Authority (PDEA), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.

The Universal Periodic Review happens every three to four years, where the states present their human rights records to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The last Universal Periodic Review (UPR) participated by the Philippines was in 2012.

Cayetano clarified that the period under review covers five (5) years of the Aquino administration and ten (10) months of the Duterte administration.

"Human rights issues were raised by various sectors not just in this administration," Cayetano stressed.

The senator added that the UPR would be the perfect opportunity to dispel serious concerns of the international community about the alleged human rights violations of the present administration and other challenges in the law enforcement and judicial system in the country.

"There are a lot of facts that need to be clarified and put in proper context so our friends in the United Nations and the international community will understand the extent of problems of corruption, illegal drugs, and criminality in the Philippines," he said.

"We want to share the overall picture of our human-rights based development programs, especially our gains, priorities in the coming years, as well as the major challenges at hand," he added.

Besides the state of human rights in the country, the Philippine Delegation will also present the state's policies on labor; the environment; and vulnerable sectors such as women, children, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and the elderly in the country.