Philippines their views, approach, and support for National Human Rights Institutions.”
Neutral
Poses question that is not a human rights challenge.
0
AZERBAIJAN Not Free EE, OIC “Azerbaijan commends the efforts made by the Government of the Philippines towards poverty eradication… We also acknowledge certain progress achieved in the Philippines in assuring the rights of vulnerable groups, including women and children, as well as disabled persons.”
Negative
Praises progress instead of holding the Philippines accountable for ongoing violations.
- 7
BANGLADESH Partly Free Asian Group, NAM, OIC
“[the Philippines] has impressively advanced legal frameworks in place… Coming from a labor-exporting country, we would like to learn from the Philippines: educate ourselves how the Philippines manages migration”
Negative
Praises the Philippines instead of holding it accountable for ongoing violations.
- 4
BRAZIL Free G77, GRULAC “We note advancements in areas such as child rights, human rights education, programs for children belonging to minorities and indigenous peoples, rights of women and children, actions against domestic violence, to name but a few…
We are concerned with the issue of extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances. What are the measures that have been undertaken to address this issue?”
Positive
Praises the Philippines, but follows with a challenge on extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
2
CAMEROON Not Free African Group, AU, G77, NAM, OIC
“My delegation would also like to receive information from the delegation of the Philippines on measures adopted to protect street children from different forms of violence that they fall victims of.”
Mixed
Poses weak and implicit challenge on street violence, although it is unclear if this is an actual human rights challenge.
1
CANADA Free JUSCANZ, WEOG “While the exact number and true nature of the [extra-judicial] killings remains difficult to determine, estimates vary from anywhere between 250 and 835 political activists, journalists, and others who may have been killed since 2001… We would make the recommendations that the
Philippines work to ensure that members of its security forces are made aware of human rights and the role of human rights defenders.”
Positive
Strongly challenges the Philippines on the issue of extrajudicial killings.
Makes specific recommendation.
6
CHINA Not Free Asian Group, G77 “We appreciate the work of the Philippine government in reducing extreme poverty with a community supervision system to assist the poor population… We have hope that the delegation of the Philippines will present, in a more specific way, the issue of trafficking in women and children. This is a major issue confronting the entire world particularly developing countries.”
Negative
Praises Philippines for poverty reduction.
Poses question that is not an actual human rights
challenge.
- 5
CUBA Not Free GRULAC, NAM “The Philippines is a developing country confronted by difficulties…for example the percentage that the country has to spend on servicing international debt… Philippines have managed to make considerable
progress…particularly through…various ambitious programs and projects aimed at improving the well-being of the people of the Philippines in fields such as health, education, housing, employment, social security, combating poverty, assistance and support to the most vulnerable groups.”
Negative
Strongly praises the Philippines instead of holding it accountable for ongoing violations.
Assigns blame for human rights shortcomings on external economic issues rather than government policies.
- 8
EGYPT Not Free African Group, Arab League, AU, G77, NAM, OIC
“Philippines is well-known for its elaborate system of overseas protection of the rights of migrants and their families… The Egyptian delegation would be interested to hear about steps taken by the
Government of the Philippines to ensure the rights of minorities and to create a more inclusive society.”
Mixed
Praises the Philippines for protection of its overseas migrant workers.
Unclear if question is intended as a human rights challenge.
-1
FRANCE Free EU, WEOG “The cases of enforced disappearance and extra-judicial killings which most affect journalists and human rights defenders are numerous… The Government of the Philippines, could it confirm whether there were children involved in armed movements, particularly the FPA and MILF…
What measures are being taken by the government to prevent recruitment and assist the rehabilitation of these children?”
Positive
Challenges the Philippines on extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and recruitment of child combatants.
7
INDIA Free Asian Group, G77,
NAM
“My delegation would wish to learn about how the Government of the Philippines is balancing the positive and negative effects of migration.”
Neutral
Fails to pose any human rights challenges.
0
INDONESIA Free Asian Group, G77, NAM, OIC
“The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, which provides comprehensive services and programs for 1.2 million registered overseas Filipino workers serves as a model for best practices for countries attempting to improve the condition of their migrant workers.”
Negative
Praises the Philippines on its program for overseas migrant workers instead of holding it accountable for human rights violations.
- 3
IRAN Not Free Asian Group, G77, NAM, OIC
“We also appreciate the valuable efforts and commitments of the Government of Philippines…
We would like to ask if the Philippines’ delegation could elaborate further on the best practices to combat human trafficking.”
Negative
Praises the Philippines.
Poses question that is more congratulatory than an actual challenge.
- 4
ITALY Free EU, WEOG “…We would like to recommend the
establishment of an organic legal framework for eliminating gender-based discrimination and promoting gender equality… Italy recommends to continue to address legislative gaps in the field [of]
Rights of the Child.”
Positive Makes generic recommendations on women’s and children’s rights.
3
JAPAN Free Asian Group,
JUSCANZ
“We highly regard the efforts made by the Government of the Philippines in promoting the fundamental human rights of the vulnerable groups, including women… With regard to the issue of extra-judicial killings…we would like to know if there are any other additional measures being contemplated.”
Mixed
Praises the Philippines, but follows with weak challenge on extrajudicial killings.
1
MEXICO Free GRULAC “We would also encourage the Philippines to assess the possibility to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and also the Convention on the Protection of All Persons Against Enforced Disappearances.”
Positive Makes specific
recommendations to ratify human rights agreements.
4
NETHERLANDS Free EU, WEOG “We would like therefore to recommend that further concrete steps are taken to criminalize torture… We would like to recommend that the follow-up report is given about further efforts and measures which will be taken to address extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances.”
Positive
Makes recommendations on torture, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances.
5
NIGERIA Partly Free African Group, G77, NAM, OIC
“We appreciate the conscious emphasis the Philippines government makes towards
guaranteeing the human rights of all its citizens, particularly the vulnerable group… We commend the Philippines for its comprehensive policies and strategies aimed at reducing extreme poverty…
We wish to encourage the Philippines to step up its efforts to continue to meet the basic needs of its poor and other vulnerable groups.”
Negative
Praises the Philippines instead of holding it accountable for ongoing violations.
Makes generic
recommendation related more to economic development than human rights.
- 6
NORTH KOREA Not Free Asian Group, G77, NAM
“Education, as an essential element of human rights, was further improved, followed by successful implementation of initiatives and programs in a number of areas, such as employment-growth, healthcare and welfare services. We note, with particular interest, the long tradition and high level of women’s participatory inclusion and empowerment.”
Negative
Strongly praises the Philippines on social welfare instead of holding it accountable for human rights violations.
- 7
PAKISTAN Not Free Asian Group, G77, NAM, OIC
“Philippines…has made valuable contributions to the regional and international human rights norms setting, especially in areas such as rights of women, gender equality, and migrant workers. A range of steps taken by the Government of Philippines…have led to the improvement in the human development… The Government of Philippines’ constant effort to address the problems…such as violence against women, treatment of human rights defenders, extra judicial killings and enforced disappearances are welcome steps.”
Negative
Praises the Philippines’
progress and initiatives instead of holding it accountable for ongoing violations.
- 7
RUSSIA Not Free EE, OIC (observer) “We note the ratification by the Philippines of the main human rights treaties and the development of the second plan of action and program on human rights, as well as the judiciary’s abolition of the death penalty… Given that some fifteen percent of the population of the Philippines is representative of indigenous peoples, we would be interested in receiving information on what measures have been taken to protect their rights.”
Negative
Praises alleged progress.
Raises generic question on the rights of indigenous peoples, but fails to pose specific challenge.
-2
SLOVENIA Free EE, EU “Slovenia is making the following
recommendations to the Philippine Government:
To enable the visit by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism… To sign and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and to sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture.”
Positive
Challenges the Philippines and makes specific and concrete recommendations on serious human rights issues.
6
SOUTH KOREA Free Asian Group, JUSCANZ
“We note the ratification by the Philippines of the main human rights treaties and the development of the second plan of action and program on human rights as well as the…abolition of the death penalty… Given that some 15% of the population of the Philippines are representatives of indigenous peoples, we would be interested in receiving information on what measures are being taken to protect their rights.”
Negative
Praises the Philippines.
Question on rights of indigenous people not posed as a clear challenge.
- 2
SUDAN Not Free African Group, AU, G77, NAM, OIC
“This [policy] shows a very positive engagement with the UN and international community at large to bring about and attain economic and social rights.”
Negative
Praises the Philippines’
progress on “social and economic rights” instead of holding it accountable for human rights violations.
- 6
SWITZERLAND Free JUSCANZ, WEOG “Switzerland recommends that the Philippines continues to step up its efforts to investigate extra-judicial executions and to punish those
responsible, as well as the strengthening of the witness protection programs.”
Positive Makes specific recommendations on extrajudicial killings and witness protection.
4
SYRIA Not Free Arab League, Asian Group, OIC
“Its constitution glorifies the individual freedoms as well as the freedom of expression and belief…
Philippines has ambitious plans to address poverty, malnutrition, women’s emancipation,
unemployment, human settlements, and the recruitment of children in armed conflict.”
Negative
Strongly praises the Philippines, including on issues in which it is known to be a violator.
- 10
UNITED