The Philippine delegation to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) has placed the spotlight on children’s right to rest, leisure, play, and cultural participation as it hosted the 6th ASEAN Dialogue on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), with discussions centered on General Comment No. 17 of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
General Comment No. 17 clarifies that Article 31 imposes positive obligations on States—to respect children’s time and space for play, to protect them from harmful third-party interference including in schools and digital environments, and to fulfil the right through policies, safe spaces, and budget allocations.
Dialogue sessions examined how these obligations intersect with education systems, urban planning, culture, business and marketing practices, and the rapidly expanding digital environment.
AICHR officials said the thematic focus on General Comment No. 17 reflects a programmed, issue-by-issue ASEAN approach to deepening CRC implementation.
Previous ASEAN Dialogues addressed other core CRC principles such as best interests of the child and participation; the current cycle turns to Article 31 to respond to mounting evidence that children’s play and leisure are being squeezed by academic pressure, child labor, poverty, migration, urban congestion, and post-pandemic learning loss.
The Dialogue also linked Article 31 to regional priorities on mental health, violence prevention, online safety, and climate-related displacement, noting that children across ASEAN consistently identify safe spaces for play and cultural expression as essential to recovery and resilience. These insights feed into ongoing work on the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence against Children.
Held last December in Makati and via videoconference, the Dialogue was organized by AICHR Philippines in partnership with the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) Philippines, the University of the Philippines Institute of Human Rights, and Child Rights Coalition Asia (CRC Asia). More than 60 participants from ASEAN human rights bodies, government agencies, UNICEF, international organizations, national human rights institutions, and civil society groups took part.
Opening the Dialogue, Philippine Representative to AICHR Undersecretary Severo S. Catura of the Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat underscored that advancing children’s rights remains a core pillar of the 4th Philippine Human Rights Plan (2024–2028).
ACWC Philippines Children’s Rights Representative Elizabeth Aguiling-Pangalangan reiterated ASEAN states’ binding obligations under the UNCRC to ensure not only children’s survival, but also their holistic development and well-being.
Since its launch in 2018, the ASEAN Dialogue on the UNCRC has served as a platform for AICHR, ACWC, and child rights organizations to exchange best practices and align policies across sectors. All ASEAN Member States have ratified the UNCRC, and AICHR said the current focus on General Comment No. 17 aims to translate a “soft” right into concrete laws, policies, urban designs, and budget decisions across the region.