Karapatan: Cases forwarded to UN filed in Phl agencies, courts first

MANILA, Philippines — Human rights group Karapatan filed cases with Philippine agencies and courts before bringing the issue of summary killings to the United Nations, it said in response to Malacañang playing down the move as a publicity stunt.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Sunday said it was “useless” to go to the UN on alleged extrajudicial killings without filing cases before local courts or prosecutors.

“Filing directly with the UN is only for propaganda purposes because there are institutions in the Philippines that could address it,” Roque said.

He said he had not seen the complaints filed by Karapatan and was not aware whether the group filed charges before the court.

READ: Palace says Karapatan filing of EJK cases to UN 'propaganda'

But Karapatan said that cases they have asked the UN to look into had been previously brought to domestic institutions such as the Commission on Human Rights, Department of Justice, the Office of the Ombudsman and local courts.  

“May we remind Attorney Roque that exhaustion of domestic remedies is not a prerequisite in submitting letters of allegations or reports to UN Special Procedures,” the group said.

'Slow turning of wheels'

Karapatan also countered Roque’s claim that the criminal justice system in the country remains effective, saying the Philippines has “notoriously tortuous court proceedings and slow turning of wheels of the justice system in the country.”

The group said it is both "futile and unjust" to tell victims and their families to wait for years for a local court ruling on the accountability of state forces before they can avail of international human rights mechanisms. 

“Roque should perhaps look at himself in the mirror when he talks about people or groups using human rights cases to seek fame in the UN or elsewhere. Because, for human rights workers of Karapatan, what we need is concrete action to investigate the cases of human rights violations and for measures to ensure that these violations will not happen again,” the group said.

It added: “Clearly, Attorney Roque is just using several excuses to cover up the existence of extrajudicial killings and human rights violations under Duterte and to impede the victims’ process of seeking justice and accountability.”

In two separate letters dated December 2 and submitted to UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killing Agnes Callamard and UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders Michel Forst, Karapatan called for the immediate investigation of 25 cases of alleged summary killings committed “in line with the intensifying counter-insurgency program of the administration of President Duterte.”

Karapatan submitted its first batch of 47 cases of alleged EJKs under the Duterte administration to Callamard and Forst in April. 

Karapatan said that from July 2016 to October 2017, it has documented 104 victims of EJKs under Duterte’s counter-insurgency program. The group said this is on top of 20 incidents of forced evacuations and 17 cases of aerial bombardment.

Karapatan is affiliated with Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, an umbrella group of national democratic activist organizations.

READ: More EJK cases filed vs Duterte administration