UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, on 14 to 17 August 2023 held its World Humanitarian Day photo exhibit and legislative forum at the House of Representatives together with its partner legislators and the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD).
“Many have risked their lives in working to save others and reduce human suffering, all while maintaining the dignity of the people with and for whom we work. To be a humanitarian means having a strong commitment to helping those in need. And these activities and the tireless work that our partners here have done to shepherd the IDP Bill towards a unanimous approval is a testament to the Philippines’ strong humanitarian tradition,” said UNHCR Philippines Head of National Office Maria Ermina Valdeavilla-Gallardo.
This was also reflected in the message of State Counsel Dennis Arvin L. Chan, who leads the Department of Justice Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit (DOJ-RSPPU) who said, “This World Humanitarian Day is not only a time for reflection, but an opportunity for us to contemplate on our efforts — on our gains and the work ahead of us, particularly on how the Philippines’ has been steadfast in keeping its bayanihan spirit and humanitarian tradition alive through our laws and policies.”
World Humanitarian Day is observed every 19th of August, the anniversary of the attack on the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, 20 years ago. It pays tribute to the unwavering commitment of humanitarians to deliver life-saving protection and aid.
The week-long photo exhibit at the House of Representatives highlights the enduring tradition of the Philippines of welcoming refugees and asylum seekers and the significant milestones in protecting and promoting the rights and welfare of people forced to flee, stateless persons, and populations at risk of statelessness.
“As an IDP, I had to leave the home I grew up in and had to be raised in an evacuation center where I experienced a lot of injustices. As a member of the LGBT community, I am very vulnerable to bullying. I was also not allowed to play with other children because their parents forbade them to play with me,” Ulah, an internally displaced person in Maguindanao, said in a video message.
“It is good to hear that the House of Representatives has passed a bill that seeks to protect the rights of IDPs like myself. But the battle is not yet done, the bill now needs to hurdle scrutiny at the Senate. My message to the lawmakers is that I hope they will continue to support it because there are many people like me who have experienced and continue to experience hardships in evacuation centers,” added Ulah.
On the last day of the exhibit, 17 August, UNHCR and its partners brought together experts from the DOJ-RSPPU, Office of the Solicitor General, Philippine Commission on Women, and the Judiciary for a legislative forum where participants had an in-depth discussion on forced displacement and statelessness in the national context, and the work being undertaken for rights-based legislative measures that aim to improve the safeguards for people forced to flee, stateless persons, and populations at risk of statelessness.
“Once you leave your own country, your future is not clear. You don’t know what to do, you don’t know where to go, you have no more hope,” said Kamran Karbasi, a former refugee who was naturalized as a Filipino in 2017.
Karbasi, who shared his experience of undergoing the process of naturalization in the country in a separate video message, added that it took him more than 15 years to become a Filipino citizen.
“Within those 15 years I really lost my hope. Because I never thought I would become Filipino citizen. But finally, it came true and I’m very happy now. Thank you to the Filipinos and Philippine government that they allowed me to stay here and accepted me as one of their own,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a privilege speech commemorating World Humanitarian Day, TINGOG Party-list Representative Jude Acidre, called on his fellow lawmakers to “proactively support the passage of several proposed legislative measures now pending before Congress, which aim to provide comprehensive protection for refugees, asylum seekers, stateless applicants, stateless persons, and populations at risk of statelessness.”
Acidre is the main author of the recently passed House Bill No. 8269 or the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons Act which has been approved on third and final reading at the House of Representatives.
For her part, Valdeavilla-Gallardo said that the activities at the House of Representatives underline the combined efforts of UNHCR and its partners to further strengthen the humanitarian tradition of the Philippines in providing protection and support for the forcibly displaced through a normative framework, which is consistent with what World Humanitarian Day stands for.
“We hope that the World Humanitarian Day activities staged here and all over the world encourage us all to work together in protecting, promoting, and upholding the rights of people forced to flee and to explore more avenues of collaboration so that we will be more prepared to respond to the needs of the people we serve, no matter who, no matter where and #NoMatterWhat,” Valdeavilla-Gallardo added.
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ABOUT UNHCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution. We lead international action to protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. We deliver life-saving assistance, help safeguard fundamental human rights, and develop solutions that ensure people have a safe place called home where they can build a better future. We also work to ensure that stateless people are granted a nationality. We work in over 130 countries, using our expertise to protect and care for millions.
In the Philippines, UNHCR has maintained a presence for over 40 years, working on three pillars: providing durable solutions to refugees, ending and reducing statelessness, and empowering displaced families.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Karen Cepeda
External Relations Associate
[email protected]
(02) 88172398
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