The Philippine Embassy in Australia is one with the international community in commemorating the Human Rights Week from 04 to 10 December 2012.

The Human Rights Week was conceived to commemorate the day the United Nations has adopted the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UNDHR) on 10 December 1948. This landmark document was the first global instrument expressing the basic principles of human rights.

The adoption of the UNDHR paved the way for the creation of more international human rights instruments in the form of covenants, treaties or declarations which address various human rights concerns such as torture, apartheid, and slavery.

The Philippines’ commitment to guarantee full respect of human rights are explicitly expressed in Article II, Declaration of Principles and State Policies, and Article III, Bill of Rights, of the Philippine Constitution.

The Philippines is likewise State Party to the following eight (8) core international human rights treaty: International Convention on Civil and Political Rights; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women; Convention on the Rights of the Child; Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and their Families; and International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.