Commission On Human Rights of The Philippines: Significant Developments, Challenges and Prospects On Its 20 Year"
Commission On Human Rights of The Philippines: Significant Developments, Challenges and Prospects On Its 20 Year"
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(a) Asia Pacific Forum (APF) for the Investigation Capacity Building and Forums on Internally Displaced
Persons (IDPs)
(b) Swedish International Development Assistance (SIDA) for the Strengthening of the Child Rights Center
(c) International Centre for Human Rights Education (EQUITAS) for the National Human Rights
Institutions at Work: Asia Pacific Regional Workshop on Womens Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights
(d) The Asia Foundation for the Martus Project on Development of National Human Rights Information
System
(e) Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) for the Trainors Training Workshop on
Enforced Involuntary Disappearance
6) Training Assistance to Provedore for Human Rights and Justice (East Timor)
The CHRP has been tapped to assist in the training of the Provedore for Human Rights and Justice. A human
rights trainer from the CHRP conducted two-week training on Human Rights Education for the key staff and
training staff of Provedore in July 23 August 3, 2007. CHRP developed the training module and reference
materials. The participants also included some NGOs and the Ministry of Education.
The CHRP recognizes the important role that forensics play in the investigation and documentation of human
rights abuses in other countries, and has sought to obtain and provide a similar source of expertise in this
country.
The other new specialty center is the Womens Human Rights Center, which operationalized in 2007 to cater
to the needs of women who are violated of their rights. This compliments the Child Rights Center, which
specializes on child friendly investigative procedures, child rights monitoring and data banking, assistance to
child-victims and child rights advocacy.
While the CHRP now enjoys unprecedented prestige, it is currently facing a major setback in its operations.
Early in the year, the Supreme Court (SC) gave its final ruling that the Commission enjoys only limited fiscal
autonomy and has practically reduced all its 15 Regional Directors to Division Chiefs. This limited fiscal
autonomy strikes at the core of an important element of independence accorded to national human rights
institutions based on the Paris Principles. Nevertheless, CHRP has taken steps to correct the situation. The
steps are both short term and long term solutions.
The long term solution is the enactment of the CHRP Charter. With the current interest on human rights
issues, CHRP must seize the opportunity open in the New Congress. In fact, a new Senator has recently filed a
bill granting CHRP prosecutorial powers. The proposed bills currently being lobbied in Congress prove to be a
prospect to strengthen the development of the CHRP as a national human rights institution (NHRI) in the
country. The Commission is valued as an essential partner in the task of protecting and promoting human
rights of the Filipino people and those who reside within its boundaries.