UN: Many women OFWs exploited in domestic work, prostitution

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on Monday expressed concern that many women overseas Filipino workers become victims of exploitation, prostitution and human trafficking.

“The committee was concerned that a significant number of the 1.13 million women overseas Filipino workers are exploited in domestic work and prostitution, often amounting to human trafficking, and that they are primarily engaged in unskilled and low-paid jobs and are separated from their families and children for long periods of time,” it said in a statement based on the findings of its review on Albania, Bhutan, France, Guatemala, Jamaica, Malawi, Nicaragua, the Philippines and Uruguay.

The findings contain positive aspects of each country’s implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the committee’s main concerns and recommendations.

Its report on the Philippines called on the government to “strengthen the legal protection of women OFWs, prosecute and sentence those who exploit and abuse them, including recruiters and raise awareness of women overseas workers about their rights.”

The committee also expressed concern “about the use by the State party of the Anti-Terror Act [2020] to legitimize acts against women human rights defenders, land and environment defenders and journalists, including ‘red-tagging’ as in the case of Nobel Prize laureate Maria Ressa, which resulted in intimidation, hate speech, threats, physical assault, harassment, arrest and detention”.

It asked the Philippines to “ensure that women human rights defenders and journalists, including Maria Ressa, and those advocating for land rights, environmental protection, indigenous women’s rights and rural women’s rights, could exercise their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association without harassment, surveillance or undue restriction”.

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Source: Manila Standard

PHL trade facilitation score improved — UN

The Philippines improved its score in an international index of trade facilitation, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) said.

The UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation graded the Philippines’ implementation rate at 87.1% this year, against 86.02% in 2021.

The survey tracks progress made on the implementing trade facilitation measures. It evaluates transparency, formalities, institutional arrangements and cooperation, paperless trade, and cross-border paperless trade.

“In the Asia-Pacific region, implementation increased by about three percentage points since 2021, with the highest rates observed in Australia and New Zealand and East and North-East Asia,” UNESCAP said in a statement.

In Southeast Asia, the Philippines had the second highest trade facilitation rate, alongside Indonesia and Malaysia (also 87.1%), and behind Singapore (96.77%).

It scored better than Thailand (84.95%), Cambodia (80.65%), Brunei (78.49%), Vietnam (74.19%), Laos (67.74%), Myanmar (61.29%), and Timor-Leste (30.11%).

“Progress has been observed in more efficient trade facilitation with the overall implementation rate of general and digital trade facilitation measures increasing by more than six percentage points between 2021 and 2023,” UNESCAP said.

“The global average implementation rate currently stands at 68.7%. The highest implementation rate is seen in developed economies (85.3%), followed by countries in South-East and East Asia (76.6 %),” it added.

The Philippines scored 100% in terms of transparency and formalities, which means the country fully implements the trade measures under this metric.

Transparency includes measures such as the publication of existing import-export regulations on the internet, advance rulings on tariff classification and origin of imported goods, and stakeholder consultations on new draft regulations, among others.

Formalities refer to risk management, post-clearance audits, expedited shipments, and pre-arrival processing, among others.

Meanwhile, the score for institutional arrangement and cooperation stood at 77.78%.

The survey noted that the Philippines only partially implements a national legislative framework and/or institutional arrangement for border-agency cooperation, as well as government agencies delegating border controls to Customs authorities.

In terms of paperless trade, the Philippines’ implementation progress received a grade of 85.19%. These include automated Customs systems, e-payment of duties and fees, and electronic submissions of declarations, sea or air cargo manifests.

Its lowest score was in cross-border paperless trade at 66.67%.

The Philippines only partially implements all measures under this metric, which includes laws and regulations for electronic transactions and electronic exchange of certificate of origins.

Source: UN and Business World