Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

These words from the "The New Colossus," written in 1883, appear on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, perhaps the most famous American landmark.

But they may as well apply to the Philippines now as we signed on to an international covenant committing our government to embrace people dislocated by armed conflict or persecuted on their mere political-ideological, religious, or ethnic affiliation.

All Filipinos should be proud to know that, even as we pick up the pieces from the rubble in the wake of Pedring’s devastation and move on, we are a compassionate people. That as we mourn our dead, there is much reason to be proud of as a caring country with our deep Christian tradition of charity.        

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has lauded the Philippines for adopting the international legal standard in welcoming war-displaced and stateless people to its territories.

The Philippines has become the first country in Southeast Asia to become party to the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons, which defines who is considered stateless and establishes minimum standards of treatment.

“We are pleased to welcome the Philippines as the first country in the region that has committed to protecting the rights of stateless people,”  Bernard Kerblat, UNHCR representative in the Philippines, was quoted by a  major broadsheet as saying.

“We now have a country in Southeast Asia which tells the world: 'We care for the stateless',” Kerblat pointed out.

The UNHCR noted that the Philippines has a long tradition of giving sanctuary to stateless people, and there are legal mechanisms to regularize their status in the area.

Later this year, UNHCR said it would join forces to determine how many stateless people are living in the country and where they are living here. The refugee agency is also supporting the government's move to amend its nationality legislation to prepare for accession to the 1961 Convention.

The Philipines, Croatia, and Nigeria deposited their instruments of ratification at an annual treaty event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this week.

The treaties concerned are the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, which defines who is considered stateless and establishes minimum standards of treatment; and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, which provides principles and a legal framework to prevent statelessness.

The Philippines actually was one of the first 23 countries to sign the 1954 Convention before it closed for signature on Dec. 31,  1955, and has now ratified it to put it into effect.

The numbers of states that are party to the 1954 and 1961 Conventions now stand at 68 and 40, respectively. Still, the figures are frustratingly low since the UN has 193 member-states.

Up to 12 million people are believed to be stateless worldwide. They have no nationality, usually lack valid identity documents, and are often denied even the most basic rights, including access to health care, education, housing, and jobs.