The Philippines’ human rights record to be reviewed by Universal Periodic Review

GENEVA (3 May 2017) – The Philippines’ human rights record will be examined by the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group for the third time on Monday, 8 May 2017 in a meeting that will be webcast live.

The Philippines is one of the 14 States to be reviewed by the UPR Working Group during its upcoming session taking place from 1 to 12 May, which also marks the commencement of the third UPR cycle. The Philippines’ first and second UPR reviews took place in April 2008 and May 2012, respectively.

The documents on which the reviews are based are: 1) national report - information provided by the State under review; 2) information contained in the reports of independent human rights experts and groups, known as the Special Procedures, human rights treaty bodies, and other UN entities; 3) information provided by other stakeholders including national human rights institutions, regional organizations and civil society groups.

Among the issues raised in the above-mentioned documents are: the Government's anti-drug campaign; addressing cases of extrajudicial killings and incitement to commit such killings; the proliferation of private armies and vigilante groups; combatting torture; tacking impunity and corruption; restoration of the death penalty; addressing cases of harassment, disappearance, threats and killings of human rights defenders, as well as harassment and attacks on the media; the age of criminal responsibility; remedying prison overcrowding; poverty reduction; land reform; mining-related human rights violations; combatting discrimination, including based on sexual orientation and gender identity; combatting human trafficking and exploitation of children, especially girls, for sex tourism; providing assistance to migrant workers and other Filipinos overseas; measures to protect the rights of indigenous peoples; birth registration and the right to nationality; access to education; child labour; the prohibition of corporal punishment; and the protection of children in armed conflict.

The three reports serving as the basis for the review of the Philippines on 8 May can be found here: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/PHSession27.aspx

Location: Room 20, Palais des Nations, Geneva
Time and date: 09.00 – 12.30, Monday, 8 May (Geneva time, GMT +1 hour)

The UPR is a unique process which involves a periodic review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States. Since its first meeting was held in April 2008, all 193 UN member States have been reviewed twice within the first and second UPR cycles. During the third UPR cycle, States are again expected to spell out steps they have taken to implement recommendations posed during their previous reviews which they committed to follow-up on, as well as to highlight recent human rights developments in the country.

The delegation of the Philippines will be headed by Mr. Menardo I. Guevarra, Senior Deputy Executive Secretary, Office of the President

The three country representatives serving as rapporteurs (“troika”) for the review of the Philippines are: Kenya, Paraguay and Switzerland.

The webcast of the session will be at http://webtv.un.org

The list of speakers and all available statements to be delivered during the review of the Philippines will be posted on the UPR Extranet at the following link: https://extranet.ohchr.org/sites/upr/Sessions/27session/Philippines/Pages/default.aspx

The UPR Working Group is scheduled to adopt the recommendations made to the Philippines at 16.30 on 11 May. The State under review may wish to express its positions on recommendations posed to it during their review. The recommendations will be shared with the media on this day in advance.

ENDS

To learn more about the Universal Periodic Review, visit: http://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/upr-main

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