US President Barack Obama sees the improvement of human rights as an issue that is high on his priority list.

He expressed this thought in a meeting session with civil society leaders and NGOs on Sunday.

TENAGANITA advisor Aegil Fernandez said that the meeting was very positive and the scheduled 15 minutes continued for almost an hour.

“More than 10 leaders had met up with Obama. He listened to the comments and thoughts of each one of us. I spoke about the protection and rights of the needy.

“I also gave an example of a Bangladeshi girl who had been raped and left on the streets. When she was close to 60 per cent recovery, she was deported. More should be done.

“After he heard this, Obama commented that the freedom of the people needs to be the main agenda of any country,” she told Astro AWANI.

Fernandez also said that Obama admitted the US also has problems of her own but the main thing is finding solutions to these problems.

Council of Churches Secretary-General Rev. Dr. Hermen Shastro said Obama is a good listener.

“He listened to all of our problems. I spoke on the issue of freedom of religion.

“He is someone who believes that basic rights are for everyone. I feel honoured and happy that he spent time with us even with such a tight schedule,” he said.

Obama is expected to leave for the Philippines Monday.