MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Dec. 3 (PIA) – The Regional Human Rights Commission in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RHRC-ARMM) is stepping up its efforts to promote human rights in the region.
Lawyer Abdel Jamal R. Disangcopan, head of the RHRC Lanao del Sur Provincial Office, told Philippine Information Agency (PIA) in a radio interview Monday that they are conducting series of lectures on human rights and International Humanitarian Law to educate the public on human rights.
Disangcopan noted that they hardly received human rights-related reports during their few months of operation in the province. “Bihira lang ang napa-file o nagre-report, yung iba, hindi na bumabalik,” he said.
According to him, this could be due to lack of awareness on human rights.
“We are not encouraging them to file but we need proof or evidence before we can make an action,” he added.
He said the RHRC which is independent from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the ARMM regional government monitors, conducts investigations and provides doable solutions.
Disangcopan also disclosed that the RHRC is strengthening the Bangsamoro Human Rights Network (BHRN) and on the process of completing municipal human rights profiles (MHRP).
He said the BHRN is a network of individuals and organizations advocating for human rights in the region.
“We also visit the different municipalities and ask data such as the number of schools, out-of-school children, availability of fire trucks, among others, to come up with a baseline data to determine what facilities are lacking, Disangcopan said.
“We will not give funds but we can lobby to the respective government agencies regarding the lacking facilities, he further said.
To date, Disangcopan said they have visited 29 municipalities in the province and about halfway through the MHRP.
He said they hope to finish visiting the rest of the municipalities by year-end.
Meanwhile, the RHRC-ARMM will gather human rights champions and defenders on December 9 in Cotabato City for a regional multi-stakeholders human rights conference.
Disangcopan said the conference will serve as a venue for consultations for the different stakeholders of human rights in ARMM.
One of the highlights of the conference, he said, is the launching of RHRC newsletter/annual report and the RHRC website, an interactive website which will serve as their main hub of communication.
Through the website, the public can download forms, e-mail us their concerns and comments, and even talk to RHRC commissioners, he added.
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