ADVOCATE’S OVERVIEW: Alston and UN Committee Against Torture reports

3 MIN READ

By ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW
www.nordis.net

Two damning international human rights reports on the Philippines were recently exposed in the United Nations – that of Prof. Philip Alston and that of the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT).

The Rapporteur on extra-judicial killings, summary or arbitrary executions, Alston, reported on April 29 to the UN Human Rights Council that despite the many recommendations made, the Philippine government has failed to make sufficient substantive progress and, in some cases, has made no progress at all. He noted that although the number of extra-judicial executions against members of civil society organizations has decreased, too many cases continue to be reported and far too little accountability has been achieved against the perpetrators.

On the other hand, the UNCAT report expressed grave concern on the climate of impunity on torture, enforced disappearances, and extra-judicial killings which are attributed to state security forces – the police, military and government officials.

Both reports had been treated by the government with evasion. DOJ Sec. Raul Gonzales just claimed that the Alston report should not be given any attention at all. On the other hand, Secretary Eduardo Ermita pointed out the reported cases of tortures, enforced disappearance, and extra-judicial killings had been “bloated” by the human rights group Karapatan that brought the issues to the international level.

The actions by these two government officials show how they treat human rights issues: they try to hide the real human rights situation in the country and are trying to wash their hands from the government responsibility to observe international instruments. Their actions do not stop these human rights violations. Instead, it pushed on the state-sanctioned climate of impunity.

Very concretely, after his February 2007 visit to the country, Alston recommended that the Philippine Government abolish the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group (IALAG) and that the government adopt reforms in the criminal justice system like putting focus on the investigation and prosecution of extrajudicial executions and other crimes. That was two years ago. The recommendations to abolish IALAG and solve the cases extra-judicial killings, among others, remains unheeded.

The IALAG continues to label members of civil society organizations as suspected members of the CPP/NPA/NPA. IALAG’s main purpose is to prosecute and punish members of the CPP and its front groups, the Alston report reiterated.

Even media and legal institutions are persecuted under the IALAG. For instance, the Davao military included Carlos Conde, former NUJP secretary-general and correspondent of the New York Times and International Herald Tribune, as among those listed in the military’s Order of Battle. Alston has also recommended that the purpose and the criteria for inclusion (in the OB) be made public by the military.

Still adding an insult to injury, Ermita has been justifying their 16-year late report on the implementation of the 1984 UN Convention Against Torture. He has been using natural, human, except divine, interventions on their 16 years late report.

The UN Committee Against Torture branded the Philippine government’s report as lacking in statistical and practical information on the implementation of the provisions of the Convention and relevant domestic legislation.

Ermita even questioned the documented cases of torture, enforced disappearance, and extrajudicial killings. He claimed that the human rights group who raised the issue in the UN could have validated these documented cases with the government.

Ermita must be reminded that they have the Task Force Usig, the body that had sliced these documented cases in its favor. So why should anyone validate cases with these government offices when they have bastardized the documentation and even the numbers of cases?
Being born during Marcos time, I think the development of bringing human rights issues to international attention is a positive sign that these human rights groups are in the right track of their international advocacy. If they are shot here at home, they had cornered the government in the international level by speaking of the reality of human rights in the country.

One eye opener also is the failure of government to uphold the international instruments where it was a signatory and where these instruments form part of the law of the land under the incorporation clause.

If there are groups, or anyone who push for local legislations for these international instruments, they are the progressive legislators persecuted by the administration under the IALAG. It was Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and his bloc who introduced in Congress the bill that would give life to the Convention Against Torture. Ironically, the administration’s political allies sit on these human rights related measures.

So what reform can we expect from this administration? # nordis.net