Message of the UN Philippines Resident Coordinator for the Launch of the Labour and Human Rights Module

Dear Friends,

Labour rights are human rights – and so today, I am delighted to congratulate the Commission on Human Rights and the International Labour Organization on the launch of the Module on Labour and Human Rights.  I also thank the EU for their support to this project, and Ateneo Human Rights Center for contributing their expertise and collaboration.

Labour rights are human rights – these are the rights of workers, of environmentalists, of persons with disabilities, of women, children and the elderly, of LGBTQI+ persons. The Universal Declaration on Human Rights itself guarantees the right of everyone to equal pay for equal work, and to work without discrimination. It guarantees just and favourable salary to ensure “an existence worthy of human dignity”. It also guarantees the right to form and join trade unions. Without these rights, we cannot reach the Sustainable Development Goals, nor hope to fulfil the promise to leave no-one behind.

The partnership between the International Labour Organization, the Commission on Human Rights, the Department of Labour and Education, and the AO35 Inter-Agency Task Force on Extra Legal Killings and other grave violations,  show the need for a comprehensive approach to making labour rights a reality.

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed how it is often the most vulnerable workers - those without or with limited fair and secure conditions to start with - who are the first to feel the impact of crisis. At the same time, they are often least able to access protection mechanisms.

Labour rights seek to address this, and therefore are at the core of creating a more equal and fair society. They allow all people to choose their employment, to provide for their families, and to contribute their skills  and talents to society and to development in meaningful ways. This is not only a moral imperative, but also one which makes economic sense and is necessary for the sustainable development of a country.

Friends,

In two days we celebrate International Human Rights Defender Day.  Labour Rights Defenders are Human Rights Defenders. The ILO, as well as my office,  continues to engage and collaborate with labour unions. They provide valuable insights and guidance to our development and human rights strategies.

At the same time, it is appropriate to take pause, and remember those who have paid a high price for their work. Mr. Emmanuel Ascunscion, whose killing is under investigation; Ana Marie and Ariel Evangelista – defenders of fisherfolk; Dandy Miguel and Leonardo Escala - all killed in 2021. Others remain in detention – Eugene Eugenio and Esteban Mendoza, as well as five labour activists detained one year ago, on human rights day, who remain in pre-trial detention. We appreciate the steps taken by the AO35 mechanism, and reiterate the need to ensure a safe environment for those who advocate peacefully for labour rights.

By including the full range of rights, the Labour Rights module reinforces the multi-pronged approach, and the linkages between economic, social, civil and political rights. It also emphasizes the importance of collaboration between different sectors in achieving rights. This in turn links to broader efforts of the UN, the Government, the Commission on Human Rights and civil society actors in implementing the UN Joint Programme on technical cooperation and capacity building for Human Rights.  It also creates synergies with the EU-supported ILO Trade for Decent Work Project in the Philippines, which supports the protection and promotion of human rights from the perspectives of Philippine commitments under ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association, and Convention 98 on the Right to Organize and Collectively Bargain.

I look forward to seeing this module used and implemented, in ways that create meaningful and rights-based progress towards the further improvement of the human and labour rights situation in the Philippines.

Congratulations, happy human rights consciousness week, and thank you.