The Commission on Human Rights is being designated as the focal agency to investigate, documenl provide some assisiance and assist lDPs in their redress. Moreover it is expected to come up with a recommendation on how to strengthen civilian protection under that law. Theres a second appropriation to the tune of 50 million pesos once the law is passed in the first year and in the succeeding year, the appropriation would have to come from the Genera I Appropriations Act conflict situations do not by themselves guarantee thatthe rights and welfare of the people be protected. Those who are pushing for this bill do not have any illusion that it will really end this phenomenon of internal displacement Nonetheless we see this as a platform to promote awareness, and also to invite multi-stakeholder cooperation in order to slowly strengthen our national framework for protection. Of course everyone knows displacement is only a consequence of something that emanates flom conditions We have a saying that the proof of the pudding is in the eating," and it is obvious that even Republic Act 9851 or other special laws protecting civilians in of impoverishmenl maldevelopment, poor governance and of course, the intractable war. The ultimate aim of all our cooperation is to move towards attainment of durable solutions. Children in Situations of Armed Conflict Brenda S. Vico Executve Director, Council for the Welfare of Children The CWC is the highest government inter- is mandated to coordinate implementation and enforcement of all laws related to children's welfare. lt formulates policies and agency group which -l programs for welfare and protection of children and, I would like to emphasize that we are the lead advocate for the implementation and monitoring of the countrys compliance with the Convention, through policies advocates for CRC implementation. and innovative programs. The council also monitors and evaluates policies and measures and, more importantly, it builds strong networks, partnerships and coordination mechanisms. m @,S*,, two children representatives who really express their views on what the children want for themselves. Our work is to advocate and promote the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The convention is paft of the lnternational Human Rights Law which deflnes The council was established by Presidential Decree 603, creating the Child and Youth Welfare Code in the comprehensive sets of rights that all children L974. Through the years the council which used to be with the Office of the President has moved from one agency to another. We are now under the Department of Social Welfare and Developmenl The members of the council are nine government organizations (DOH, D0LE, DepEd, DOJ and all the other agencies which are working for children). The council also includes two private individuals and every human being below the age of 18. must enjoy ai all times. Article 1 states that a child is Let me give you a brief comparison between IHL and CRC. They are almost the same except that IHL is only for war situations, while CRC is broader, and includes the rights of children both in peace and in situations of armed conflict You have, in terms of the original sources, the Hague and Ceneva conventions and all Proceedings of the Second National Summit on lnternational Humanitarian Law in the Philippines 11 December 2012 tr