HON. ROBERTO EUGENIO CADIZ
Focal Commissioner
Center for Crisis, Conflict, and Humanitarian Protection
*MESSAGE*
In the past decades, we have seen conflicts, disasters, and exploitative development
projects encroach upon our communities, leading to massive displacement of civilians
who are in need of humanitarian assistance. As the human rights discourse evolve in
view of the changing times mired by crises and conflict, government and nongovernment agencies and the stakeholders themselves are now seeing the need to
promote and protect the rights of individuals and communities affected by these
difficult circumstances.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is taking on this task of monitoring the
protection and promotion of the human rights of crisis- and conflict-affected
populations, particularly the internally displaced persons (IDPs), as undertaken by
government and non-government humanitarian service providers through the CHR IDP
Monitoring Tool. Carefully crafted to reflect the realities on the ground and pilot-tested
in displacement areas across the country, this tool shall assist the Commission in
documenting evidence-based information on displacement incidents, and movements
and situations of IDPs. The processed data will be the basis in the crafting of policies,
advisories and other interventions in the exercise of the Commission’s powers and
functions.
The publication of this document is very timely, considering the thousands of Filipinos
who have experienced or continue to experience displacement to this day. I am hopeful
that the publication and use of this monitoring tool will lead to a stronger realization of
the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (UNGPID) in the
country.
I congratulate the previous IDP Project Management Team, led by now UN Special
Rapporteur on the Human Rights of IDPs, Attorney Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, and the
Center for Crisis, Conflict and Humanitarian Protection for the production and
publication of the CHR IDP Monitoring Tool.
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