23 March 2017
PRESS STATEMENT
Statement of the Commission on Human Rights on
the passing of former Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani
The Commission on Human Rights joins the nation in mourning the death of a respected senator, career diplomat, women’s human rights advocate, and Filipina, Leticia RamosShahani.
In 1964, Shahani joined the United Nations (UN) Secretariat, under its Division of Human Rights, and was recognized as one of the top-ranking women of the UN. In the succeeding years, she served as Philippine envoy to Australia, Romania, Hungary, and Germany, as well as in the UN in various capacities, later becoming the Secretary General of the World Conference on the UN Decade of Women in Nairobi, Kenya in 1985.
She is the first co-author of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the International Bill of Rights of Women. We remember her as the mother of CEDAW.
In the Philippine Senate, her notable works include authoring: Republic Act No. 6725 aimed at Strengthening the Prohibition on Discrimination against Women in the Workplace; Republic Act No. 8353 or the Anti-Rape Law; and Republic Act No. 8505 or the Rape Victim Assistance and Protection Act of 1998—all of which helped raise the status of women in the country.
The Commission joins the Ramos-Shahani family, friends, fellow women human rights defenders, and the nation grieving but grateful for the life of a great public servant and champion of human rights. ■
Contact Person:
Atty. Jacqueline Ann C. de Guia
OIC, Public Affairs and Strategic Communication Office
Telephone No: (02) 928-5792 / 09175919833
Email address: comms.chr@gmail.com