SC Celebrates Human Rights Week
December 5, 2023
Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, Chairperson of the Supreme Court Committee on Human Rights, addresses Court officials and employees during the flag raising ceremony of the Supreme Court on December 4, 2023. This kicks off the Supreme Court’s celebration of Human Rights Week from December 4 to 12, 2023, coinciding with the International Human Rights Day which is commemorated on December 10 of every year. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)
The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday reaffirmed its commitment towards upholding the protection and promotion of human rights in accordance with the Constitution as it holds its Human Rights Week celebration from December 4 to 12, 2023, coinciding with the International Human Rights Day which is commemorated on December 10 of each year.
To kick off the celebration, the flag raising ceremony on December 4, 2023 was led by the SC Committee on Human Rights headed by Committee Chairperson Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen.
In his message to Court officials and employees, Senior Associate Justice Leonen emphasized that “human rights ensure our freedoms,” adding that as political philosophers have asserted, “our humanity should not only consist of our freedoms from the intrusion of the state, it should also mean our freedoms to be able to be who we are.”
“Indeed, we can never be truly human unless we have the dignity to be our authentic selves,” he stressed.
Senior Associate Justice Leonen likewise shared that the Court, through the Committee on Human Rights, is “currently working on re-examining the special writs that have been used and promulgated in the past to ensure that these freedoms become more meaningful,” specifically the writ of habeas corpus, the writ of Amparo, and the writ of habeas data.
Further, recognizing the “subhuman conditions” of detention centers, he stated that the Court En Banc is considering the drafting of a writ of kalayaan which “hopes to provide for a remedy to call attention to these conditions, give them priority, make them visible and address them with the necessary resources” from the Executive and the Legislative branches of the government.
After the singing of Lupang Hinirang or the national anthem, the reciting of the Panunumpa sa Watawat, and the singing of the Supreme Court Hymn, a poetry reading of Sa’adi Shirazi’s Bani Adam or Human Kind followed.
A digital exhibit titled Dignity, Freedom, Justice for All: State of Occupied Palestinian Territories is also held at the second floor of the SC Main Building from December 4 to 6, 2023 and from December 11 to 12, 2023. The following films are being shown on loop: The Israel-Palestine Conflict: a Brief, Simple History; Civil Rights for Palestinians; and How the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Began|History. The films may also be viewed on YouTube via https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJPVluzhxHvBvi71Li8RqpZM_FTaVL4jF. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)
The staff of Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen wear keffiyeh scarves as their office leads the flag raising ceremony of the Supreme Court on December 4, 2023. This kicks off the Supreme Court’s celebration of Human Rights Week from December 4 to 12, 2023, coinciding with the International Human Rights Day which is commemorated on December 10 of every year. (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)
As part of its celebration of Human Rights Week, the Supreme Court holds a digital exhibit entitled “Dignity, Freedom, Justice for All: State of Occupied Palestinian Territories” for Court officials and employees at the ground floor of the SC Main Building in Padre Faura, Manila from December 4 to 6, 2023 and at the lobby of the same from December 11 to 12, 2023. Three films are being shown, namely: “The Israel-Palestine Conflict: a Brief, Simple History”; “Civil Rights for Palestinians”; and “How the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Began|History.” (Courtesy of the Supreme Court Public Information Office)