Philippine Human Rights
Information Center
(PhilRights)
Dr. Nymia Pimentel-Simbulan
Executive Director

The Philippine Human
Rights Information Center
(PhilRights) is a human rights
NGO registered with the
Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) since
October 10, 1994.

It functions as a research &
information center of the
Philippine Alliance of Human
Rights Advocates (PAHRA).

It is an associated NGO of
the United Nations
Department of Public
Information (UNDPI) and
has a special consultative
status with the UN Economic
& Social Council (UN
ECOSOC).

PhilRights has been part of
the human rights movement
since 1991 & has been doing
advocacy work through its
research, training &
information activities since
its formation.

The establishment of
PhilRights was a response
to one of the gaps
identified by the PAHRA
leadership, i.e. the need
for an information center
to service the information
& research requirements
of the alliance and its
member organizations
Vision

PhilRights envisions a just,
democratic and peaceful
Philippines founded on
human rights culture. It
envisions a society where
there is gender equity and
each individual is able to
fully realize one’s potentials
as a human person,
participate and contribute in
the economic, political and
cultural life of society, and
share equitably in the
benefits of economic
progress.
Mission

As the research and
information arm of the
Philippine Alliance of Human
Rights Advocates (PAHRA),
PhilRights commits itself in
partnership with other
people’s organizations, civil
society organizations and
individuals to advance the
rights of marginalized
groups and individuals, and
ensure state compliance
with its human rights
obligations.
Goals
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Deepen awareness, knowledge and understanding of PAHRA
and the general public about human rights conditions, issues
and mechanisms;
Work for a dynamic human rights movement that is able to
mobilize sectors and groups for timely and effective
intervention in the promotion and defense of human rights by
making available human rights information and tools in
information handling and dissemination;
Help ensure state compliance with its human rights
obligations through active monitoring and engagement;
Strengthen cooperation and partnership with local and
international networks in the conduct of human rights
activities through lively exchange and sharing of information;
Enhance capability of human rights organizations in the
promotion and defense of human rights through education
and training on research, advocacy and information handling
and dissemination.
Institutional Programs

Human Rights
Research Program
(HRRP)
– responsible for fulfilling
the research
requirements of the
institution’s projects and
institutional programs
like HR situationers in
project sites, annual HR
reports for its
publications, etc.

Human Rights
Information Program
(HRIP)
– takes charge of publishing
PhilRights’ research
projects, disseminating
research results using
popular forms like primers,
comics, pamphlets, video
documentaries, tarpaulin
posters, etc. and manages
the NGO’s website

Human Rights
Education and
Training Program
(HRETP)
– in-charge of raising
awareness on human rights
concepts, principles &
approaches, and
developing skills on HR
monitoring &
documentation through
discussions, trainings,
conferences, etc.

Human Rights
Monitoring and
Documentation (HR
M&D)
– program tasked to
develop the data-base
on economic, social
and cultural rights
violations,
documentation tools,
ESCR lexicon, &
documentation system
on ESCR violations

The Office of the
Executive Director
(OED)
– Oversees the day-today operation of the
institution, leads in
program planning &
assessment,
generates funds, and
acts as the
spokesperson of the
institution.
Funded Projects
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PhilRights was instrumental in the creation of several
formations/coalitions/network:
Philippine Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
People Against the Death Penalty - Movement for Restorative
Justice, the broad formation that campaigned for the repeal of
the Death Penalty Law in the Philippines from 2004-2006. The
death penalty law was abolished in June 2006.

It has conducted numerous trainings among
indigenous peoples, urban poor residents, students,
teachers, NGO workers, children & parents in conflict
areas, local government officials, on human rights
concepts & principles, integration of peace and
human rights in school curriculum, monitoring &
documentation of rights violations, children’s rights &
child rights programming, etc.
UPR Involvement
PhilRights has been active in the
preparation & production of Parallel
Reports to the UN HRC & other UN TreatyMonitoring Bodies.
 A leading NGO in the production of the
2008 Philippine NGO Report to the UN
CESCR & 2012 Philippine Joint Civil Society
Report for the 2nd Cycle of the Universal
Periodic Review (UPR).

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The institution is affiliated with the Alliance to
Stop Large-Scale Mining, a broad network of
anti-large scale mining advocates,
environmentalists & human rights defenders.

Responsible for the setting-up of a broad
coalition of Philippine NGOs & POs working on
economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR), the
Philippine NGO-PO Network on ESCR, which is
currently campaigning for the ratification of the
Optional Protocol to the ICESCR.
Publications


Inside the Chambers:
The Performance of the
9th Philippine Congress
on Human Rights. 1996.
Monitoring Economic,
Social and Cultural
Rights: The Philippine
Experience (with English
and Filipino versions).
1997

Golf Courses: Are They
on Par with Human
Rights. 1999.



Manual: A Guide to
Human Rights Lobbyists
(10th Congress). 2000
Zoom Into Your Rights
(A Teacher’s Guide in
Teaching Human
Rights). 2001 (Photo
book)
Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights: The
Grassroots View (ESC
Rights Standards &
Indicators Setting).
2002.
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Comic Books on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (with versions in Filipino, Ilocano & Visayan).
2003
Books on Children and Peace (with versions in
English, Filipino & Visayan). 2003
A Rapid Assessment on the Performance of the 12th
Philippine Congress (June-November 2004). 2004.

Deadly Playgrounds: The
Phenomenon of Child
Soldiers in the Philippines.
2005.


Deadly Playgrounds:
Primer on child soldiers in
the Philippines (with
versions in Filipino). 2005
All children have rights (A
booklet on the Convention
on the Rights of the Child
with versions in Filipino &
Maranao). 2005


Training on your rights: Modules on Monitoring
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 2005
Invisible Realities, Forgotten Voices: The women on
death row from a gender and rights-based perspective.
2006

Restorative Justice: Legal Framework and Practices in
the Philippines. 2006.

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On Integrating Peace and Human Rights in
Secondary Education: Toward Strengthening
Lumad, Moro & Settler Relations in Mindanao. 2006.
The Anti-Terrorism Act in the Philippines: A Human
Rights Critique (Occasional Paper No. 1). 2006
Primer on Human Rights and Mining. 2007


Living in the Margins: Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights in an Urban and a Rural
Community. June 2010
A Resource Book for Teaching Human Rights
and Peace. June 2010
Regular Publications

Currently, PhilRights
releases two (2) regular
publications:
– Human Rights
Forum (HRF), a
semestral magazine which
contains articles on human
rights issues selected to be
the focus for the period,
facts and figures on the
human rights situation,
with most articles written
in Filipino.
Regular Publications

In Focus: An Annual
Human Rights
Situationer, a
publication presenting the
human rights situation,
i.e. civil & political rights,
economic, social and
cultural rights specifically
the rights to food,
housing, health,
education and work, the
previous year.
Video documentaries


Bangsamoro: Isang sulyap sa kanilang
pakikibaka (Bangsamoro: A glimpse at
their struggle), 2001 (A video on the
history & continuing struggle of the
Bangsamoro people in the Southern
Philippines towards self-determination.)
The Headhunter’s Shadow, 2001 (A
video about the impact of infrastructure
projects specifically the construction of
the Casecnam Dam in Nueva Vizcaya,
Northern Luzon on the lives and culture
of indigenous peoples, the Bugkalots).
Video documentaries

Moving Mountains, 2001 (A video which tackles
the issue of mining and its impact on the
environment and the livelihood of people in the
affected communities).
 The Killing of Juan dela Cruz by the State, 2004
(A video on the history, pros and cons of the
death penalty in the Philippines).
 Traces of Awakening (Bakas ng Pagbangon),
2011 (A video on the life & aspirations of the
Aetas in Canbangan, Zambales in the midst of
challenges posed by mining & logging activities
in their ancestral land.)
Contact Details
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Postal Address: 53-B Maliksi St., Brgy. Pinyahan,
Quezon City 1100, Philippines
Telephone No. : (632) 4331714 and 4264048
Telefax: (632) 433-1714
Email: philrights@philrights.org
Website: http://www.philrights.org
PhilRights at Facebook
PhilRights at Twitter
 Thank
you.