Exactly two years since the media launch of the Philippines’ Rule on Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Persons, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in formal partnership with the Philippine Judicial Academy (PhilJA), held the inaugural training on the Rule on Facilitated Naturalization of Refugees and Stateless Persons, aiming to enhance the capacity of members of the Judiciary.
On 25-26th of March, UNHCR and PhilJA, in coordination with the Special Committee on the Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Individuals, teamed up for the first-ever training on the Rule on the Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Persons. ©UNHCR/Karen Cepeda
A total of 34 judges from Regional Trial Courts in the National Capital Judicial Region and regions III, IV, V, VI participated in this inaugural training aimed at enhancing the capacity of judges to handle naturalization cases of refugees and stateless persons. ©UNHCR/Karen Cepeda
The two-day training aimed to boost the judges’ capacities in making well-reasoned, fair, and legally sound judicial decisions when they handle naturalization cases of refugees and stateless persons in consideration of their vulnerabilities and circumstances. ©UNHCR/Karen Cepeda
The two-day training aimed to boost the judges’ capacities in making well-reasoned, fair, and legally sound judicial decisions when they handle naturalization cases of refugees and stateless persons in consideration of their vulnerabilities and circumstances. ©UNHCR/Ri Rizare
Led by resource speakers from the Supreme Court and the Special Committee on Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Individuals, UNHCR, the Department of Justice – Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit (DOJ-RSPPU), the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), and Community and Family Services International (CFSI), the sessions aimed to enhance the capacities of judges to make well-reasoned, fair, and legally sound judicial decisions in naturalization cases, in consideration of the refugees and stateless persons’ specific needs, circumstances, and vulnerabilities.
Participants of the training learned from resource speakers from the Supreme Court, the Special Committee on Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Individuals, UNHCR, the Department of Justice – Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit, the Office of the Solicitor General, and the Community and Family Services International. ©UNHCR/Karen Cepeda
Participants of the training learned from resource speakers from the Supreme Court, the Special Committee on Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Individuals, UNHCR, the Department of Justice – Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit, the Office of the Solicitor General, and the Community and Family Services International. ©UNHCR/Karen Cepeda
Participants of the training learned from resource speakers from the Supreme Court, the Special Committee on Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Individuals, UNHCR, the Department of Justice – Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit, the Office of the Solicitor General, and the Community and Family Services International. ©UNHCR/Karen Cepeda
Participants of the training learned from resource speakers from the Supreme Court, the Special Committee on Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Individuals, UNHCR, the Department of Justice – Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit, the Office of the Solicitor General, and the Community and Family Services International. ©UNHCR/Karen Cepeda
Participants of the training learned from resource speakers from the Supreme Court, the Special Committee on Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Individuals, UNHCR, the Department of Justice – Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit, the Office of the Solicitor General, and the Community and Family Services International. ©UNHCR/Karen Cepeda
Participants of the training learned from resource speakers from the Supreme Court, the Special Committee on Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Individuals, UNHCR, the Department of Justice – Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit, the Office of the Solicitor General, and the Community and Family Services International. ©UNHCR/Karen Cepeda
Participants of the training learned from resource speakers from the Supreme Court, the Special Committee on Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Individuals, UNHCR, the Department of Justice – Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit, the Office of the Solicitor General, and the Community and Family Services International. ©UNHCR/Karen Cepeda
Participants of the training learned from resource speakers from the Supreme Court, the Special Committee on Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Individuals, UNHCR, the Department of Justice – Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit, the Office of the Solicitor General, and the Community and Family Services International. ©UNHCR/Karen Cepeda
Participants of the training learned from resource speakers from the Supreme Court, the Special Committee on Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Individuals, UNHCR, the Department of Justice – Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit, the Office of the Solicitor General, and the Community and Family Services International. ©UNHCR/Karen Cepeda
Thirty-four (34) judges were in attendance during the two-day capacity building in Manila, with participants mostly coming from Regional Trial Courts in the National Capital Region (NCR) and a few from outside NCR handling naturalization cases filed by refugees and stateless persons.
UNHCR Head of National Office Maria Ermina Valdeavilla-Gallardo emphasized the significance of the Rule in strengthening the Philippines’ humanitarian legacy of opening its doors to refugees and stateless persons as she welcomed the judges to the training. ©UNHCR/Karen Cepeda
In his opening remarks, PhilJA Vice Chancellor Justice Mariano Del Castillo highlighted the role of the Judiciary in providing life-saving assistance and opportunities to refugees and stateless persons. ©UNHCR/Karen Cepeda
Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando, Chair of the Special Committee on the Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Individuals, encouraged the participants of the training to familiarize themselves with the Rule and relevant legal frameworks. ©UNHCR/Karen Cepeda
Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez, Vice Chair of the Special Committee on the Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Individuals, reminded the participants of the training of the power that judges wield in shaping the destinies of refugees and stateless persons who seek safety in the Philippines. ©UNHCR/Karen Cepeda
“The Rule is the first initiative of its kind in the world and further strengthens the Philippines’ longstanding humanitarian tradition of welcoming people who have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict and violence. This training contributes to the work of our judges to uphold rights – it is, in the long run, a means to make a difference and change their lives for the better,” said UNHCR Philippines Head of National Office Maria Ermina Valdeavilla-Gallardo.
Opening the training, Justice Mariano Del Castillo, Vice Chancellor of PhilJA, highlighted the displacement of innocent people all over the world and the Philippines’ longstanding tradition of opening its doors to those seeking safety within its borders, and reminded the participants: “When you as judges are able to grant them naturalization, you extend to them the guarantees our Constitution gives to all its citizens. The Rule gives those persons a much-needed new lease in life.”
Meanwhile, in his closing speech, Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando, Chair of the Special Committee on the Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Individuals reminded the participants of the collective responsibility of the members of the Judiciary to “to apply the rules with utmost diligence and understanding of its legal foundations.”
“The Rule exists in an intricate web of international conventions, treaties and laws which are all aimed at refugee protection and addressing statelessness. As judges, it is essential that we familiarize ourselves with these legal frameworks and draw upon them in our processes. Our decisions hold the power to transform fear into hope, uncertainty into security, and adversity into opportunity,” he said.
This was echoed by Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez, Vice Chair of the Special Committee on the Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Individuals, who deemed the training series as a “significant journey towards enhancing our collective capacity in providing protection to refugees and stateless individuals. Your roles as judges hold immense power to shape the destinies of those who seek refuge within our borders.”
A pathway to durable solutions, naturalization allows refugees and stateless people access to full rights as Filipinos and enables their integration into Philippine society.
The Philippines, as a State Party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol and the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, has the obligation to “facilitate their assimilation and naturalization.” It is also a means to reduce statelessness as outlined under the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
Approved in 2022, the Rule is the first judiciary-led initiative in the world to simplify the naturalization process for refugees and stateless individuals who have encountered legal and procedural challenges due to their circumstances and vulnerabilities.
It also contributes to the fulfilment of the National Action Plan to End Statelessness by 2024, the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 and its predecessor the updated Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022 – 2027, and the State’s pledges during the 1st and 2nd Global Refugee Fora and High-Level Segment on Statelessness.
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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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