Philippines faces grilling from UN rights body

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government will be grilled today on the human rights situation in the country before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN HRC) in Geneva, Switzerland during the third cycle of its Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

Members and observers of the UN HRC will raise the Philippines’ past human rights pledges and new concerns, after the 2008 and 2012 reviews of the country.

This year’s review covers the last four years of the administration of former president Benigno Aquino III and the period since President Duterte took office, which include alleged human rights violations in relation to the latter’s war against illegal drugs.

The UN HRC has released some of the advanced questions from other governments that will be asked during the UPR.

The United States will ask how the government is investigating the cases of those who died during police operations in the anti-drug war campaign, as well as the mechanisms in place to ensure the independence of investigators.

The US will also ask about efforts to decongest prisons and speed up trials. The status of the Maguindanao massacre will also be raised.

The United Kingdom, meanwhile, will ask how the government ensures the protection of journalists, human rights defenders and the political opposition.

It will also ask how the campaign against illegal drugs is informed by internationally accepted standards on health and human rights.

The UK will also raise the issue involving the proposal to lower the criminal age of liability in the country.

Belgium will ask the Philippines about the request of UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions Agnes Callamard to conduct a country visit without conditions and on matters involving enforced disappearances, child labor and abortion.

The Netherlands will raise issues on sexual and reproductive health rights, while Switzerland will ask a question on the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

Other countries that submitted advanced questions on the human rights situation in the country include Mexico, Sweden, Czech Republic, Germany, Norway and Slovenia.

The Philippine UPR delegation is co-led by deputy executive secretary for legal affairs Menardo Guevarra and Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. Presidential Human Rights Committee Undersecretary Severo Catura also joins the group.

“The Philippines welcomes the forthcoming UPR session as an opportunity to highlight the country’s significant and sustained achievements in upholding, promoting and protecting the human rights of every Filipino through a whole-of-government approach and in partnership with all stakeholders,” Cayetano said.

“The Philippines has been a strong supporter of the UPR and the Philippines attaches utmost importance to the work of the Human Rights Council, especially as it contributes to building the capacity of States to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

The senator also said that the Philippines believes that the UPR is a very useful tool for effecting real change on the ground, as it fosters genuine dialogue and cooperation through the sharing of best human rights practices and technical assistance to enhance the capacity of states to meet these commitments.

Other members of the Philippine delegation are Ephraim Cortez of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), Jigs Clamor (KARAPATAN), Sharon Cabusao-Silva (Gabriela), Bro. Jun Santiago (Rise Up), Nardy Sabino (Promotion of Church People’s Response), Jerrome Baris (UCCP), Jojo Guan (Center for Women’s Resources), Pia Malayao (KATRIBU) and Beverly Longid (Rural Missionaries of the Philippines-Northern Mindanao Region).

The delegation will also hold meetings with church groups in Europe and organize public events and fora with the Filipino community in Switzerland and other parts of Europe.

Constructive dialogue

Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairman Chito Gascon, who flew to Geneva on Saturday with two other commissioners to monitor the UPR, said the review promotes constructive dialogue among governments sitting in the council.

“This is not a condemnatory approach. In other words, the different government representatives will sit with their peers, the representatives of the Philippine government, and the purpose is to have a dialogue about the human rights situation,” he said.

At the end of the review, the government will respond, then finalize the report that the human rights council will approve, according to Gascon. That report will contain a list of observations and recommendations that the government must act on.

Gascon also said the Philippines will be held accountable should failures arise in fulfilling the recommendations that it accepted in the last UPR in 2012.

“New recommendations will be made and in the next UPR four or five years from now, the Duterte government will be asked to address those fully,” he said.

Extrajudicial killings, drug war

Other issues to be raised include the proliferation of private armies and vigilante groups; combatting torture; tackling impunity; addressing cases of harassment, disappearance, threats and killings of human rights defenders and members of the media; the age of criminal responsibility; remedying prison overcrowding and poverty reduction.

The Philippine delegation will also be asked about land reform, mining-related human rights violations, discrimination, human trafficking and exploitation of children for sex tourism and providing assistance to migrant workers and other Filipinos overseas.

Also expected to be covered are matters involving the rights of indigenous peoples, birth registration and the right to nationality, access to education, child labor, the prohibition of corporal punishment and the protection of children in armed conflict.

During the UPR, world governments are expected to spell out steps they have taken to implement recommendations posed during their previous reviews, which they committed to follow-up on, as well as to highlight recent human rights developments in the country.

Country representatives from Kenya, Paraguay and Switzerland will serve as rapporteurs for the review of the Philippines.

Sanctions possible

Former CHR chair Loretta Ann Rosales warned that the Philippines may face sanctions from the international community if it fails to show that the government is committed to ensure the protection of the human rights of the Filipino people.

“I don’t know how the government will actually come out in presenting its human rights record to the UPR, considering the fact that the President has all along been glossing over, to put it politely, the standards to which we are a state party,” she said.

“The state is accountable for human rights violations committed against its constituents… The government is accountable, is responsible for all the extrajudicial killings that have been committed,” she added.

“Given what’s happening, there’s a possibility” of sanctions being imposed, she said.

Sanctions, according to Rosales, may include the withdrawal of support of other governments in terms of disaster relief and military support. She also cited possible economic sanctions.

“Ever since President Duterte stepped into office, there have been 11 or more pronouncements and statements from the United Nations and from organizations all around the world,” Rosales said, noting that the Chief Executive “has glossed over them, has just ignored them, has just dismissed them.”

“These actually will impact negatively with respect to how the UN will treat the Philippine government as a state party,” Rosales added.

UN review of Philippines 'critical'

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said UN member states should denounce the Philippines’ brutal “war on drugs” that has killed more than 7,000 people since Duterte took office in June 2016.

“UN member countries should urge the Philippines to support an international investigation into the killings, given the Philippine government’s own failure to impartially investigate or prosecute those responsible,” HRW said.

Various UN bodies, the media and HRW and other nongovernmental organizations have reported on the extrajudicial killings, which may amount to crimes against humanity.

“The UN review of the Philippines is critical because of the sheer magnitude of the human rights calamity since President Duterte took office last year,” HRW deputy Asia director Phelim Kine said. “Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ has been nothing less than a murderous war on the poor.”

The Philippines was one of the first 47 members of the UN HRC, which was formed in 2006. It is currently serving its fourth term in the council.

The Philippines joins 13 other countries which comprise the first batch of countries in the UPR’s third cycle.

The UPR is a state-driven voluntary process that involves all UN member states under the auspices of the HRC. It aims to improve the human rights situation on the ground of each of the 193 UN member states.

Under this mechanism, the human rights situation of all UN member states is reviewed every five years. Forty-two states are reviewed each year during three Working Group sessions dedicated to 14 states each. The third cycle of the UPR will cover all states and run until 2021.