NCRFW Bats For Full Implementation of Human Rights Laws In RP
06 December 2007 --The National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) strongly advocates the full implementation of human rights laws in the Philippines as it joins the entire nation in the observance of the National Human Rights Consciousness Week from December 3 to 10, 2007.
This year's theme for the commemoration is "Karapatang Pantao" Ating Pananagutan Tungo Sa Katarungan at Kapayapaan."
NCRFW Chairperson Myrna T. Yao said Filipino women and men should transform traditions, practices, and laws that harm women.
"The struggle for women’s human rights must be about empowering women anywhere and everywhere all the time. This means that we must take action to stop discrimination and violence against women (VAW)," Chairperson Yao said.
The commemoration coincides with this year’s observance of the 18-Day Campaign To End Violence Against Women that revolves around the general theme “Kaligtasan ng Kababaihan sa Karahasan, Tungkulin ng Bawat Mamamayan!” It focuses on providing better services for VAW victims-survivors.
The NCRFW in partnership with the Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), Inter-Agency Council on violence Against Women and Children (IAC-VAWC) and the Violence Against Women Coordinating Committee (VAWCC), with support from United Nations Population Fund spearheads the campaign.
Chairperson Yao expressed that VAW is not just a special concern. It is a serious and urgent human rights concern or countless Filipino women living in constant fear and insecurity over their lives and safety.
"For them, daily acts of violence, particularly as these happen in their own homes and in the community, create a situation of helplessness and powerlessness that hinders their growth and development, oftentimes completely immobilizing them and excluding them from active participation in the development process," she added.
Chairperson Yao emphasized that as early as in the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies in 1985, VAW was already seen as an obstacle to the achievement of gender equality, development and peace.
"VAW, according to Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies violates the rights and principles of women with regard to equality, security, liberty, integrity and dignity which should be applied to all human beings," Chair Yao noted.
The 18-Day Campaign To End VAW supports the concerns raised by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in its Concluding Comments to the Combined 5th and 6th Report of the Philippine government. It recommended, among others, that the Philippine government "undertake measures to increase awareness of all forms of violence against women, including domestic violence, marital rape and incest, and the unacceptability of all such violence."