Position paper for Philippines
| Committee: | GA First |
| Topic: | Consolidation of peace through practical disarmament measures |
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| It is the international community's responsibility to ensure in this new age of technology and weapons advancement that we do not allow the regrettable events of the past to repeat themselves. The humanitarian consequences of nuclear, chemical, and even small arms on countries throughout the world is an issue of profound importance and warrants urgent attention. Currently, the United Nations has various policies to target these threats through various disarmament measures. This all started with the "Establishment of a Commission to Deal with the Problems Raised by the Discovery of Atomic Energy" (A/RES/1/1). However, the Republic of the Philippines believes that strengthening some of the more effective policies in place will help promote increased cooperation among the member states and improve arms reduction on a global scale. To accomplish this, we suggest an approach beginning with the need to reinforce the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) by using the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a steppingstone to better implementation. A multifaceted three-step proposal is recommended. Step one would begin by improving the multilateral dialogue and cooperation aspects of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty to set the groundwork for more nuclear and non- nuclear weapon states to be active in this conversation. Step two would consist of altering certain areas of concern within both the NPT and the TPNW that would incentivize these countries to co-sponsor the treaty. Finally, step three improves verification measures to ensure co-sponsoring member states abide by the regulations and prohibitions set in place by the treaty. The Philippines urges member states to join this initiative to continue increased efforts of global disarmament. | |
| Committee: | GA First |
| Topic: | Implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction |
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| The Republic of the Philippines is dedicated to its commitment to global security regarding the non-proliferation of chemical weapons. Currently, the United Nations has established the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and has been advocating for the complete destruction of chemical weapons. The Philippines truly believes in the CWC and has been a state party since 1995. Regardless of the strong framework put forth through the CWC there are still challenges with the implementation. The Philippines stresses the importance of addressing these challenges through international cooperation, transparency, and stronger verification mechanisms. The Philippines calls on member states to follow the recommendations of the S/RES/1540, stating that all states should withhold from any form of support to any nation or non-state actors involved in the development, manufacturing, possession, transportation, or use of chemical weapons. The Philippines advocates for the strengthening of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons verification mechanisms. This must be done to continue to detect and deter the development of chemical weapons. Finally, the Philippines has passed the Chemical Weapons Prohibition Act (CWPA) to prohibit the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons and urges Member States to consider this type of domestic regulatory framework. | |
| Committee: | GA Second |
| Topic: | Agriculture development, food security and nutrition |
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| One of the biggest threats to agricultural development and food security is climate change. The Republic of the Philippines advocates for continued investment by Member States in programs such as the Green Climate Fund to promote climate resilient agriculture and support vulnerable farmers. The Philippines recognizes the importance of expanding outreach to rural smallholder farms through programs such as Farmer Field Schools and teaching techniques such as integrated pest management and agroforestry. It is also essential to expand technological capacities in order to deliver up to date climate information to all farmers. While we strive to improve the resilience of our current agricultural systems, we must also ensure that those affected by increasingly common extreme weather events and natural disasters will retain access to food. The Philippines calls upon Member States to direct special attention to the impacts of climate change on local and global food systems and to recognize the necessity of programs such as the Food Assistance for Assets initiative that provide food security during emergencies. Beyond the current and future threats of climate change to the global food crisis, the Philippines is also concerned by the decrease in funding of World Food Programme initiatives such as the Global School Meals Coalition. The combination of high rates of hunger globally and a lack of investment into programs that could be providing life-saving assistance is very troubling. With this as a backdrop, the delegation from the Philippines would like to draw attention to the nearing of the end of the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016- 2025) and urge Member States to reaffirm their commitment to meeting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 by 2030. We must rise to the challenge and take immediate action to develop sustainable, climate-smart agricultural systems capable of providing nutritious food to our growing global community. | |
| Committee: | GA Second |
| Topic: | Development cooperation with middle-income countries |
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| When it comes to promoting sustainable development, it is essential to consider how to do so equitably. Severe debt affects low and middle-income countries substantially more than it does high-income countries. The Republic of the Philippines urges Member States to support the expansion of critically needed debt relief for low and middle-income countries through green debt restructuring, reforms in long-term financing, and increased investment in the World Bank's International Development Fund. Additionally, the Philippines believes that the proposed Sustainable Development Goal stimulus package is necessary to providing countries in the Global South with the opportunity to reach the SDGs by 2030, considering their higher vulnerability to economic shocks due to conflict and natural disasters. In accordance with equitable treatment, we must consider the ways in which the economies of middle-income countries are unique from those of high-income. Remittances are highly important to many such economies; however, they are often subject to exorbitant fees. The Philippines encourages Member States to recognize the significance of remittances to middle-income countries and work to reduce fees to the target rate of 3 percent set by SDG 10. Additionally, middle-income countries often struggle to remain competitive in a dynamic and volatile economy, unable to match either the technological advancement of high-income countries or the low-cost labor that low-income countries are able to offer. The Covid-19 pandemic rapidly accelerated the digitization of our world and further illuminated the uneven technological development across developing and developed states. The Philippines stresses the importance of addressing the digital divide as part of a holistic development strategy to improving economic competitiveness of states in the Global South. Other challenges to development often faced by middle-income countries are threats due to conflict and natural disasters. The Philippines recognizes this impediment and is committed to increasing its participation in UN Peacekeeping. Accounting for the diverse strengths and weaknesses of middle-income countries is crucial to achieving sustainable development globally. | |
| Committee: | GA Third |
| Topic: | Rights of indigenous peoples |
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| The Republic of the Philippines supports the legislation submitted by the President of the General Assembly on August 26, 2024. This policy regards the enhancement of Indigenous peoples' representation in United Nations bodies. Stemming from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the emphasis on the right to self-agency in decision-making, on matters of direct impact to their communities, is of importance. The Philippines additionally restates the imperative nature of the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples in which Indigenous participation in plenary committees was encouraged. A/RES/70/232 was further recited to underline the call to the President of the General Assembly in 2015 to conduct consultations with Member States and Indigenous Peoples on how to advance institutional incentives for Indigenous attendance at meetings that impact them. This legislation proposes that the President of the General Assembly delegate, at the beginning of the eightieth session, two co-facilitators from the Member States that will collaborate with two advisers from the Indigenous Peoples worldwide. They will then inform policymakers during the international governmental process. Lastly, the Philippines aligns with the Seventy-Eighth session agenda item 68 which suggests Member States donate to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples. This will uplift Indigenous representatives during meetings that assist in obtaining equality. | |
| Committee: | GA Third |
| Topic: | Literacy for life |
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| There can be no advancement, whether social, economic, or cultural, without an educated population. Literacy is the basis of education, and all people should have adequate access to education or programs aimed at countering illiteracy. Access to education is a human right, and all people, but especially children, as protected under the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Children doctrine, should have access to education to achieve literacy. The Republic of the Philippines supports this principle. As of 2021, nearly 763 million people were illiterate. The Philippines staunchly supports Sustainable Development Goal 4 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which focuses on all states achieving substantial adult and child literacy by 2030. The Philippines urges all countries to make this goal a priority by providing free public primary and secondary school for all children regardless of class. The Incheon and Paris Declarations recommend that countries invest between 4-6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in education and literacy improvement. Though the primary responsibility for educating the population should be on one's state, the Philippines recognizes that states do not always have the funds available to begin such programs, and so they will need UN support when establishing these programs. Furthermore, providing the general population access to just two more years of schooling could lift nearly 60 million people from poverty, which would be only to the benefit of local and national economies. Therefore, the Philippines highly encourages member states to consider these recommendations in order to make gains in literacy nationally and globally. | |
| Committee: | GA Plenary |
| Topic: | The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment |
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| The Republic of the Philippines recognizes the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. With the United Nations recognition of this right as well, it is hoped that it will help create and initiate transformative changes for environmental action to create more of a just future. With frequent natural disasters- such as typhoons, floods, and landslides, many exacerbated by environmental damage- the right to a healthy environment is closely linked to the right to life, health, and security. Indigenous and rural communities, who rely directly on natural resources for survival, are often disproportionately impacted by environmental destruction caused by industrial activities. The Philippines recognizes and honors the work and support that the United Nations has dedicated to addressing these issues within their country. The Philippine Constitution enshrines the right to a "balanced and healthful ecology," a principle upheld in landmark cases such as Oposa v. Factoran, which introduced the concept of intergenerational responsibility in environmental protection. However, despite this legal framework, the Philippines faces serious challenges in enforcing environmental laws, particularly in urban centers where pollution from waste, emissions, and poor waste management are widespread. The United Nations is in partnership with the Philippine Government to help reach their national goals developmentally in their 2030 agenda. With the UN and Philippines close cooperation for decades, this assistance includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These goals help set up for upholding the Philippine governments three pillars for their agenda, People, Prosperity and Planet, and Peace. The goals include clean water, affordable and clean energy, sustainable communities, climate action, water protection, and more. For the Philippines, this right is more than just an environmental concern-it is a matter of survival, equity, and justice, especially for those who are vulnerable. Addressing these challenges through the suggestion of stronger governance, law enforcement, or community engagement is vital to ensuring this right is protected for future generations and aligning with both constitutional and international obligations. | |
| Committee: | GA Plenary |
| Topic: | Safety and security of humanitarian personnel and protection of United Nations personnel |
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| The republic of The Philippines recognizes the importance of humanitarian personnel and peacekeepers. As the United Nations drafts resolutions that seek to aid Member States who suffer with humanitarian and security crises, The Philippines commends the work of dignified United Nations personnel who are on the front lines, being the sentinels of peace and security. The Philippines invests in peace and peacebuilding through its active contributions to the UN peacekeeping operations, as demonstrated by our country's proud 60-year peacekeeping tradition, having deployed over 14,000 Filipino peacekeepers to 21 UN peacekeeping and special political missions. In this regard, the Philippines puts a high priority on ensuring the safety of peacekeepers and remains a strong supporter of UN peace operations as a matter of national policy, pursuant to its abiding commitment to collective security and the rule of law. However, The Philippines recognizes the harm that these personnel must contend with both externally and internally. The Philippines believes that safety is of the utmost importance for those on the front lines, and there must be inscribed protections. Many personnel are at most lightly armed and protected. Their training and equipment leave them with little means of recourse in the midst of armed conflicts. While this ensures that peacekeepers are not exacerbating ongoing conflict, it does render them vulnerable to harm. Their protection must not come in the form of more lethal weapons, rather, by institutional changes to bring about protection while remaining nonviolent. The Philippines also honors the women who chose to join peacekeeping forces to help with establishing global peace, yet it is abhorrent that women are subject to sexual crimes while serving. This undermines our effectiveness as a body and integrity of the United Nations as a whole. The Secretary General should also ensure that all peacekeeping personnel adhere to the highest standards of conduct and are held accountable for their performance. On improving capacity building, we would like to know the measures in place to enhance the collection, sharing and use of data across the board to support the integrated planning structures in various peacekeeping missions. In addition to this, The Philippines aims to include initiatives to encourage meaningful participation of women in uniformed roles and call for the integration of gender perspectives in all aspects of peacekeeping across command levels. | |
| Committee: | WHA |
| Topic: | Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health |
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| The Republic of the Philippines wants to acknowledge the importance of the health in women. The Philippines had previously had a two-year joint project called Project BRAVE to help vulnerable women, children, and adolescents with mental health and psychosocial services and protection from gender-based violence (GBV) during the response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Philippians also has a Women's Health and Safe Motherhood Project that is meant to help the health of women, especially women who are at a reproductive age. The Philippians wants to continue the work of resolution A_HRC_57_L.30 which works to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The resolution also works at recognizing the importance of human rights education for youth, particularly on equality and non-discrimination The Philippians are working toward protecting the rights of every child, and by making sure that children have rights and a safe and nourishing environment. They are also working to make sure there is gender equality, and by making sure that everyone has rights the health of everyone will be taken care of. The Philippians urges member states to continue to collaborate make sure that everyone has rights, and that health is continuing to be focused on. | |
| Committee: | WHA |
| Topic: | Public health dimension of the world drug problem |
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| The Republic of the Philippines wants to acknowledge the threat to public health with the growing drug problems, particularly with the alarming rise in overdose incidents. The Philippines urges member state to continue to uphold the Global SMART program to continue to collect data on the drugs and allow for more information to be collected. The Philippines wants to also continue to the work of the UNODC strategy to identify the patterns and trends of the drug market. By continuing to collaborate within in the framework UNODC, members state can effectively focus on implementing education programs and how to recognize addiction and the use of drugs. Implementing more programs that explain the risks associated with drug use can help with preventing addiction among individuals. Applying these programs to youth and communities will help with informing more of the health threats. Also implementing harm-based reduction strategies will help with helping show the importance of substitution therapy. One strategy is organizing naloxone distribution programs to ensure a response to an effective emergency. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist that can reverse an opioid overdose. Allowing these materials to be available to the public could help with overdose incidents. Implementing strategies to educate people about the risks associated with drug use is essential for tackling the world drug crisis. The Philippines urges member states to continue their collaboration to ensure public health and safety. | |
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