COTABATO CITY — For Chairperson Atty. Abdul Rashid Kalim of the Bangsamoro Human Rights Commission (BHRC), the issue on human rights was one of the reasons why the autonomous region was created.
“[It is] why our leaders and martyrs devoted their lives to fight oppression against our Bangsa and stood up to promote and protect the rights of the Bangsamoro,” Kalim said in his message during the celebration of this year’s International Human Rights Day on Saturday, Dec. 10.
The sacrifices of the Bangsamoro leaders and martyrs, according to Kalim, are what inspires the workforce of the BHRC to do the same for the human rights of the Bangsamoro people.
“We, the BHRC human rights advocates, oath to continue what our leaders started in protecting and promoting the rights of every Bangsamoro,” Chairperson Kalim stressed.
On the other hand, BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim also expressed in a video message the Government of the Day’s commitment to support all of BHRC’s initiatives in raising awareness and upholding the principles of human rights in the region.
“And we pledge all possible mechanisms for achieving a just, fair, and dignified Bangsamoro region,” Ebrahim said.
Chief Minister emphasized that awareness on human rights is a very crucial and significant armor in defending the rights of the Bangsamoro that have been denied for decades.
“The message of Human Rights Awareness is to address the failure of access to our rights, which has resulted in the non-fulfillment of their benefits. A lack of knowledge of those rights has an aggravated effect on society, including poverty, crimes, inequalities, and injustices, all of which we seek to address,” he said.
Also highlighted during Saturday’s activity was the accomplishments of BHRC, including the operationalization of its six provincial offices which can help to easily cater to human rights violation reports of the Bangsamoro people.
International Human Rights Day is annually observed every 10th of December, the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948.
In BARMM, the celebration carried the theme “Sustenance of Peace; Kawagib,” with the #KawagibForAll.
Employees from the different BARMM ministries, offices and agencies, Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS), and other partners participated in the activity to commit their support in attaining justices and sustaining peace in the region.
Some of the said partners also received recognition from the BARMM for exemplifying and advocating human rights and social justices. (Myrna Tepadan/BIO)
