MANILA, Philippines — In line with its thrust to protect and promote children’s rights in the Philippines, child rights desk Adhikain para sa Karapatang Pambata (AKAP) of the Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC) has launched an online training seminar on Children’s Rights and Business Principles (CRBP) for the business sector. 

The training program aims to enable businesses and their management to build their capacity on CRBP and expand their knowledge on how these principles are critical to their operations. The training will cover topics on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the ten (10) CRBPs, and its relevance to different business practices, operations, activities, and programs in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the program will discuss the use of online digital platforms in relation to the CRBPs. 

This program builds on the initiative of the AHRC and AKAP following the development of its Situational Analysis of CRBP in the Workplace: Philippine Context. In this study, one of the key recommendations was to adopt child safeguarding policies and codes of conduct on child protection to address abuse, exploitation, harassment, and safety hazards in the workforce. 

The training seminar is designed for the top management of businesses, including members of the following sectors such as marketing, information technology, tourism, garment and textile, mining, among others. Different business networks, including private foundations and learning institutions, will also be tapped.

The online training seminar will run for three weeks through a learning management system (LMS), with three live webinars starting on 17 May until 4 June 2021.