The Philippines and the United Nations

The president's presence and speech in the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York is a strong signal that the next six years will see the Philippines as an active player in geopolitics, unlike the previous administration of Duterte. In today's world beset with climate change, global pandemic, terrorism, as well as an impending world crisis on food and oil, it’s imperative that a nation of 112 million people won’t be left behind in the international family of nations.

BBM is scheduled to address the UN tomorrow, September 20, and the topic is "A Watershed Moment: Transformative Solutions To Interlocking Challenges" as reported by DFA assistant secretary Kira Azucena, BBM is expected to enumerate the global challenges from the perspectives of the Philippines, ASEAN, and all the struggling third-world economies. BBM is also set to outline his government's priorities, which include climate change, the rule of law, and food security. Of these three huge topics, it’s the rule of law that’s being watched by global pundits in the light of the world's perception on the Philippines' human rights records. It’s also timely that BBM addresses the whole world via the UN a day before the 50th anniversary of Philippine martial law.

It’s important for young Filipinos to know that the Philippines was a signatory to the UN Declaration on June 10,1942 when our own Carlos P. Romulo signed that historic document, when we were still a commonwealth and not yet an independent state. The Philippines is one of the 51 original members of the UN and had the distinct honor as one of the only four Asian nations that signed the UN Charter. Thus, this year, our country has had the privilege of having been an active participant in the formulation of global policies for no less than 80 years. Our country is a very active UN member especially in the negotiations, debates, and passage of landmark UN documents, like the Millennium Development Goals, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and the Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs.

In the 59th session of the UN's International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights held in September 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland, the member nations urged the Philippines to review its policies on the war against drugs, as well as its overall human rights policy framework. Specifically, the Philippine government was called upon to look into issues on human rights violations, overcrowding of prisons, and was asked not to reinstate the death penalty. The Philippines was one of those that founded the G-77 coalition, founded in 1964 to promote collective economic interests among UN member nations. Filipinos have been elected seven times as president of the UN Security Council: Romulo in 1957, Jacinto Borja in 1963, Romulo again in 1981, Lauro Baja in 2004, Delia Albert in 2005, then Baja again, then Bayani Mercado that same year.

In July 2017, President Duterte hit the UN for allegedly interfering in the Philippines' internal affairs. He said that when then UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon attacked Duterte's handling of the drug war in the Philippines. Despite that, the fact remains that the relations between the UN and the Philippines remains strong. The following UN entities are actively operating in our country: FAO on food and agriculture, ILO on labor and industrial peace and social justice for the working class, WHO on global health issues, UNESCO, on education and culture, UNICEF on protection for children, UNHCR on refugees, IMF on monetary cooperation, and World Bank on financing of developmental programs.

In 2013, the Philippines sent 344 troops as part of the peacekeeping forces to guard the Golan Heights in the war between Syria and Israel. Twenty-five of them were kidnapped and detained by Syrian rebels but were able to escape. Our DFA secretary then recommended to President Benigno Aquino III to withdraw all 344 but the UN pleaded to Aquino not to do that. But on September 14, 2014, the president finally withdrew all our troops due to the worsening conflicts between Israel and Syria. Nonetheless, the UN praised the Philippines for its bravery and cooperation in safeguarding peace in the world. BBM's address to the UN tomorrow will certainly bring back memories of the Philippines' role in the United Nations from the days of Marcos Sr. to Marcos Jr. I'm on the way to New York to cover the event.