PRESS RELEASE
PHILIPPINE DELEGATION TO THE 109TH SESSION OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
18 April 2023
The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) spearheads the Philippine delegation in the Constructive Dialogue between the Philippine Government and the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) on its 109th Session in Palais Wilson, Geneva, Switzerland, on April 19-20, 2023.
By virtue of Administrative Order No. 163, s. 2006 on Strengthening and Increasing the Membership of the Presidential Human Rights Committee, and Expanding further the functions of the said Committee, the NCIP is designated as lead agency to coordinate compliance with international human rights treaties – specifically on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).
The Philippine delegation officials are representatives from the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) of the Supreme Court, the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat (PHRCS).
The Philippines, in consonance with ICERD guiding principles, condemns racial discrimination and undertakes efforts and appropriate measures and enactment of policies to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms. More so, the country is firm on delivering its obligations under the said treaty.
The NCIP ensures ICERD treaty obligations are also met in Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs).
The NCIP is mandated to protect and promote ICCs/IPs rights as stipulated in Republic Act 8371, also known as the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997.
