PHL diplomat elected to top UN post on migrant workers

A senior Philippine diplomat was elected to a top United Nations post for the protection of migrant workers, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday.

Former Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Special and Ocean Concerns Jose S. Brillantes was unanimously voted last week as Chairman of the UN Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CMW) at committee’s 24th session in Geneva, Switzerland.
Brillantes, who also served as Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia and Canada, will serve as committee chairman until December 31, 2017.
“It is a recognition of the high priority the Philippines places on protecting the rights and promoting the welfare of Filipino migrant workers,” Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Cecilia Rebong said in a statement sent to the Home Office in Manila.
“This is an honor not only to Undersecretary Brillantes but also for the Philippines,” she added.
The committee is composed of 14 independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families by its State parties.
The Philippines is one of the world’s top labor-exporting nations with about 8.6 million skilled and unskilled workers scattered abroad, exposing them to abuses, unfair labor practices, and in some cases, civil strife in conflict-torn nations.
Remittances from Filipino migrant workers constitute a significant source of the country’s foreign exchange as they send home over $20 billion per year. —Michaela del Callar/KBK, GMA News
- See more at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/563249/news/pinoyabroad/phl-diplomat-elected-to-top-un-post-on-migrant-workers#sthash.nTYRXylq.dpuf

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