Philippines and the United Nations

Republic of the Philippines

United Nations membership
Membership	Full member
Since	October 24, 1945 (1945-10-24)
Former name(s)	Commonwealth of the Philippines (1945–1946)
UNSC seat	Non-permanent
Permanent Representative	Antonio M. Lagdameo

The Republic of the Philippines and the United Nations have been affiliated since the conception of the organization. The then Commonwealth of the Philippines was one of the signatories of the 1942 UN Declaration, from which the U.N. Charter of 1945 was based on.^[1] The Philippines was also among the 51 original member states, and one of only four Asian nations, that signed this charter, which marked the beginning of the UN operations.

Since then, the Philippines has been active participants of the UN through various programs and commitments. Some of which include the Millennium Development Goals, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, the Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs, among others.^[2] The Philippines consistently send peacekeepers to the U.N. The United Nations are also staffed by a large percentage of Filipinos. At the same time, the U.N. provides the Philippines with assistance in the event of calamities, and help the country raise funds for various causes.^[3]

Recently, the United Nations have been alarmed by the state of human rights in the country. During the 59th session of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights last September 2016, held in Geneva, Switzerland, the Philippines was due for its periodic review. In this review, some issues that the U.N. committee brought up included the war on drugs of the administration, overcrowding in Philippine prisons, and forced eviction of informal settlers.^[4] Earlier this year, the U.N. also urged the Philippines not to reinstate the death penalty as it is in violation of the country's commitment under international law.^[5]