21 April | Day 4: INTERAGENCY DIALOGUE WITH FILIPINO IP COMMUNITIES IN GENEVA

Geneva, Switzerland │ The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Chairperson Allen A. Capuyan spearheads an Inter-Agency Dialogue with Indigenous People (IP) Communities in Geneva.
National agencies that attended the dialogue were the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat (PHRCS) The dialogue was hosted by the Philippine Mission to the United Nations in Geneva.
Filipino Indigenous Peoples and representatives of Indigenous Peoples organizations conversed with national agencies to strengthen partnership to further uphold the rights and well-being of Filipino Indigenous Peoples in Geneva and in the Philippines.
During the meeting, discussions on deepening collaboration with the Philippine Congress and relevant national agencies were tackled to develop targeted programs for Filipino IP Community in Geneva (and other parts of the world). The programs will ensure Filipino Indigenous Peoples rights are recognized respected, promoted and protected across countries.
Representatives from the IP community also expressed concerns on IP exploitation; with this Chairperson Capuyan stressed the need to operationalized the 11 Building Blocks for a resilient, responsive and relevant Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples in their Ancestral Domain (AD). The Chairperson pointed out the necessity to have a clear inventory and assessment of the implementation of each 11 Building Blocks in ADs. He argued that its operationalization will deter exploitation among IPs.
More so, the PHRCS also requested from representatives of IP communities to regularly coordinate with the Philippine Mission to properly communicate conditions, contexts and needs of their communities.
The meeting also highlighted the importance of Civil Society Organization accreditation to deepen participatory mechanisms to uphold IP rights.
To close, the Chairperson underscored the country’s commitment to defend IP rights and elimination of all form of racial discrimination for Filipino IPs, in the Philippines and in other countries as well.