The Philippines was set to engage the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in a two-day constructive dialogue on 13 and 14 September, and on the State's implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Philippines ratified the CRC in August 1990 and has engaged the UNCRC, composed of 18 independent experts, every five years since then.

The Philippine delegation is headed by Usec. Angelo Tapales, executive director of the Council for the Welfare of Children.

"We have always accorded high importance to our human rights commitments as you can glean from our engagement with stakeholders both at the international and national level," Tapales said. "We, at the Council for the Welfare of Children, will continue to support human rights, particularly children's rights. After all, children's rights are human rights."

Meanwhile, Catura said the UN engagement is an opportunity to put forward the real and positive picture of the human rights environment in the Philippines, given that we have so much to be proud of and share with the world, among which is child rights protection.

"And equally important is, we are able to convey the essential message that the promotion, protection, and fulfillment of the human rights of Filipino citizens, especially the most vulnerable, are always high on the priority list of the Philippines' governance agenda," he said.

Co-heading the delegation are Ambassador Evan Garcia, permanent representative of the Philippine Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, and Undersecretary Severo Catura, executive director of the Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat.
With them are representatives of the Departments of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Justice, Department of Health, Philippine National Police, Women and Children Protection Center, Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council, Philippine Commission on Women, and the Supreme Court Office of the Court Administrator.

The two-day event is live-streamed on the UN Web TV (https://media.un.org/en/webtv). The first day of constructive dialogue was 9 p.m. (Manila Time), 13 September. The second day is on 14 September, 10 a.m. (Geneva time), or 4 p.m. (Manila time).