Kapihan on Human Rights: The First 100 Days





On 08 October 2010, around 120 people took part in the Kapihan on Human Rights: The First 100 Days which was organized by the Philippine Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism (PWG) and held at the Amphitheater of the Ateneo Professional Schools in Makati City. Organized as a forum to assess the attention and priority paid by government to human rights issues during the early days of the Aquino administration, the Kapihan’s participants were predominantly representatives of human rights NGOs and CSOs which regularly engage and/or partner with government agencies and institutions in their respective advocacies.

The first plenary session saw Director Karen Gomez Dumpit of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP) presenting the most salient recommendations of the UN Human Rights Council after the Philippines made its first report in 2008 in compliance with the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) procedure. She also presented the concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee, the treaty body under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), on the last Philippine report. Ms. Dumpit’s presentation was then followed by a report by Mr. Max De Mesa of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) on the concluding observations of the UN Committee on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) on the Philippines’ 2008 report.

Subsequent to these plenary presentations, the participants broke into smaller groups to better tackle the other thematic human rights instruments. As a springboard for discussion, facilitators presented the concluding observations and recommendations of the respective treaty bodies on the last submitted Philippine report for a particular convention or treaty. The five reports assessed were those submitted in compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention Against Torture (CAT), the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICMW). Participants from CSOs representing persons with disabilities also assessed the engagement of the sector with the present government and identified areas of concern since the Philippines has yet to submit a report to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). After the breakout workshops, plenary presentations of the independent discussions immediately followed.

One of the concerns raised during the plenary discussion was the importance of involving indigenous peoples in issues which will affect them such as land reform. This was followed by a suggestion to include a separate break-out group for the next Kapihan on the issue of land rights to have a more thorough discussion of the topic. Apart from that, a significant recommendation for the Aquino administration, taking into consideration the existing human rights violations (e.g. torture), was to come up with a more comprehensive and strategic security sector reform program.

In conclusion, the general sentiment prevailing at the Kapihan seemed to be that the Aquino Administration, notwithstanding the fact that it is in transition and is considerably new, ought to take more initiative in addressing human rights issues in the country. With human rights as a cross-cutting issue, the government needs to give due attention to the creation of a practicable human rights agenda to better fulfill its obligations of promoting and protecting the rights of its people.

The October Kapihan was the first of a two-part activity. Its summary of proceedings will be made available and presented to all relevant government agencies and will provide the baseline information for the discussions at the yearend Kapihan on December 7. At this forum in celebration of Human Rights week, representatives of the major offices (i.e. DSWD, DILG, etc.) will be asked to speak and present their plans as well as their response to the outcome report of the October Kapihan.

Quick Guide to 2010 Kapihan Summary
Summary of Proceedings of the 2010 Midyear Kapihan