Using the UPR to support families of the disappeared in the Philippines
“The UPR is an opportunity for us to find a common ground, no matter the fragmentations that are present” - Cecille Baello.
UPR Info met Cecille Baello in Geneva while she was participating in ISHR’s Human Rights Defender Advocacy Programme, where she shared how families of the disappeared in the Philippines use the UPR to bring their struggle for truth and justice to the international level.
For families of the disappeared, the search for truth and justice is often long, painful and deeply personal. In the Philippines, the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) is a nationwide organization that supports families searching for loved ones who have been forcibly disappeared. Founded more than 40 years ago, FIND brings together relatives of victims, friends and human rights advocates, and works closely with broader human rights networks across the country.
For Cecille Baello, the Deputy Secretary General, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is an important space to bring these realities to the attention of the international community. It allows civil society organizations to connect local experiences with international recommendations, build common positions with other actors and maintain pressure for concrete action.
Cecille’s commitment to human rights began as a university student, long before she joined FIND. This commitment was later strengthened by a personal connection to a case of enforced disappearances.
Today her work focuses on supporting families of the disappeared, creating spaces where they can rebuild their confidence, reclaim their stories and develop the skills to advocate for justice. Through the capacity building and community work FIND supports their journey from victims to survivors, and ultimately to human rights defenders. For Cecille, one of the most rewarding aspects of her work is seeing families move beyond their individual cases and become part of the bigger fight for human rights and social justice.
As she explains,
“Because these families become part of the community, they no longer just hold onto their individual case: they see every case of disappearance as something that they're also fighting for.”
This collective approach has also shaped FIND’s engagement with the UPR, where enforced disappearances have been raised repeatedly throughout the Philippines’ review cycles.
Bringing enforced disappearances to the UPR
Enforced disappearances have been a recurring issue throughout every UPR cycle of the Philippines.
Since the country’s first review in 2008, States have made 50 recommendations calling on the Philippines to prevent enforced disappearances, investigate cases, combat impunity and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
During its most recent review in November 2022, the Philippines received 15 recommendations, including eight specifically calling for the ratification of the Convention. Overall, 14 States raised the issue of ratification. The government’s response, however, revealed a nuanced position: it accepted recommendations encouraging the Philippines to consider ratification, such as those made by Eswatini and Iraq, but merely noted recommendations explicitly calling for ratification, including those from Chile or Denmark.
This reflects its long-standing position that, since the adoption of a domestic law on enforced disappearances, ratifying the Convention is no longer a priority.
Finding openings for change
In 2012, the Philippines adopted the “Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act”. Closely aligned with the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the legislation was widely seen as a major step forward, becoming a landmark law on enforced disappearance in Asia.
However, more than a decade later, the law has not led to a single conviction. Human rights organizations argue that implementation remains weak, with families still bearing much of the burden of pursuing justice. They also point out that the government has yet to allocate a dedicated budget for the law’s implementation, further limiting its effectiveness. For this reason, they continue to advocate not only for the effective enforcement of the law, but also for the Philippines' accession to the Convention, which would strengthen international oversight and reinforce accountability.
Despite the many challenges surrounding enforced disappearances in the Philippines, Cecille believes that progress is often made through small but meaningful steps. One of FIND’s recent achievements has been opening a dialogue with the Philippine Commission on Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) in the Philippines and government agencies. These discussions have led the Philippine National Police to begin developing, for the first time, a protocol for locating disappeared persons, as well as guidelines to ensure that security forces handle enforced disappearance cases more sensitively. While this initiative goes beyond the UPR process itself, it responds to long-standing recommendations made during the Philippines’ reviews, which have repeatedly called for stronger investigations, greater accountability and more effective measures to prevent enforced disappearances.
Significant obstacles nevertheless remain. Documenting cases is often difficult because many families fear coming forward, while some authorities continue to deny that enforced disappearances occur. For Cecille, maintaining international attention is therefore essential: it not only gives visibility on human rights issues in the Philippines, but also increases the pressure on the government to take meaningful action.
Building a common voice through the UPR
For Cecille, this influence is the result of a consultation process that precedes every UPR cycle. FIND takes part in numerous consultations organized by the Philippine Commission on Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), diplomatic missions and civil society networks. These meetings enable organizations to exchange information, identify common priorities and, ultimately, draw up joints reports and recommendations – whether on enforced disappearances, labor or environmental rights – thereby helping to present a comprehensive picture of the human rights situation.
“The UPR is a continuous engagement with other civil society organizations”, Cecille explains.
She encourages civil society organizations to build broader coalitions rather than work in isolation. Sharing information, combining expertise and setting aside differences allow organizations to bring grassroots realities to the international level with a stronger and more unified voice.
For Cecille, the UPR represents a tapestry with each organization contributing to a different thread, colour and pattern.
“In order for it to be seen, everyone must be holding a corner, a side. It’s something we work on together and not alone”, she says.
A powerful metaphor that captures both the interconnectedness of human rights and the collective effort needed to protect them.