THE Philippine government has invited three special rapporteurs from the United Nations (UN) to show the world the country’s commitment to combatting the sexual exploitation of children, preserving press freedom, and addressing extrajudicial killings.

In a press conference on Monday, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, who headed the delegation during the recent United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) 4th cycle of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, Switzerland, identified the rapporteurs as Mama Fatima Singhateh, Irene Khan, and Morris Tidball-Binz.

Singhateh is the special rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, while Khan is for press freedom and expression.

Also, Tidball-Binz, a forensic expert, will focus on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary killings.

“We are hoping to engage them, invite them to the [Department of Justice] for a special dialogue on any issue that they want to bring up,” Remulla said during a press conference at the DOJ main office in Manila.

Special rapporteurs need an official invitation from host governments before they can make a visit.

Remulla recently left for Geneva, Switzerland, on November 11, to represent the Philippine government during the UPR’s 4th Cycle.

The UPR is a peer-review mechanism of the UNHRC where the human rights records of all countries are reviewed on a regular basis.

This is the fourth time that the Philippines has participated in the UPR. Previous reviews took place in 2008, 2012, and 2017.

The Philippine delegation consisted of senior officials from the DOJ, the Presidential Human Rights Committee (PHRC) Secretariat, and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), including the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the United Nations (UN) in Geneva.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Hector Lawas