Message of Support
Chairperson Jose Luis Martin Gascon
A pleasant morning to all of you, it is my pleasure to welcome you all and to express my
support for this Forum on Women, Peace, and Security.
I understand that this is a first for the Commission and that it is an important step towards
strategically mainstreaming women, peace, and security in our work.
To recall, while the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 was adopted almost two decades
ago, and that regional and domestic implementation has followed, the Commission has yet
to formally adopt its own agency plan in the implementation of the women, peace, and
security agenda.
Of course, as a National Human Rights Institution, the work of the Commission inevitably
intersects and responds to issues pertaining to women, peace, and security. In monitoring
the State’s human rights obligations and commitments, and promoting and protecting
women’s and girls’ rights as Gender Ombud, the Commission has long stressed the
differential impact of armed conflict on women and girls, championed and advocated
for their protection from violence, and called for the recognition of their roles in the
peace process.
Even before the fifth Commission began, human rights monitoring in areas of armed conflict
has been part of the Commission’s work – we’ve monitored the Zamboanga Siege, the
protracted armed conflict in northern and southern Mindanao, and parts of Visayas, as well
as that in the Cordilleras. When the Marawi siege happened, and with the declaration of
Martial Law – the Commission’s work continued, documenting and investigating human
rights violations, and forwarding recommendations to government. Despite these however,
a targeted implementation of the women, peace, and security agenda has not been in
place. Admittedly, while we have adopted the Gender Ombud Guidelines and a
Monitoring Tool for Internally Displaced Persons - we are not yet compliant with the
National Action Plan on WPS. We have not yet adopted our own agency plan on WPS.
With these, it is ripe time for the Commission to enhance and to strengthen its role in
contributing to the goals of women, peace, and security. It is time to strategically respond to
the current and pressing human rights issues of women and girls on the ground, and to see
WPS work as part of our work as an NHRI and as Gender Ombud.
Before I end, allow me to give my thanks to our regional offices here present, CHR-X, XII,
CARAGA, and CAR; as well the representatives from the Commission’s Central Office. Of
course, we thank our partner government agencies and CSOs for responding to our invite,
and for recognizing the importance of collective work towards the realization of WPS
agenda. The Commission’s representatives from the Central and Regional Offices are here
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