A toothless Dracula?

The words of my human rights law professor several years ago still ring in my ears. “The Commission on Human Rights is a toothless Dracula. It can only scare, not bite,” she said.

I brought this up in answer to the question I posed in my previous article: What are the consequences of the United Nations Human Rights Special Procedures to the people and states concerned?

The Special Procedures may be regarded as akin to our own Commission on Human Rights mechanisms. Still, one cannot afford to underestimate the power of speaking truth to power. In the words of racial equality activist Shari Runner, speaking truth to power means “believing deeply in what you say and fighting every day to have that heard.”

It’s a difficult balancing act in itself, said Surya Subedi, professor of international law in UK’s University of Leeds. Writing for the Asia Journal of International Law on the impact of the work of UN human rights special rapporteurs, Subedi said that work under the Special Procedures is about holding governments to account for violations of human rights.

However, we are not yet talking of sanctions. These are taken up at the Security Council stage, and are regarded only as a last resort in cases of massive human rights violations.

While Special Procedures excludes sanctions, it entails “asking sensible and often difficult questions, and probing into the situation,” wrote Subedi. “In common parlance, it is about poking your nose into the ‘internal’ affairs of a state.”

Ideally, concerned states extend “standing invitations” to the Special Procedures, which means their governments will receive a visit from rapporteurs or any thematic mandate-holder. The concerned government and the rapporteurs then talk about the latter’s findings and recommendations before these are presented as a report to the Human Rights Council.

But as has been demonstrated by the Philippines, the affected government may likely show an antagonistic attitude toward special rapporteurs operating under the Special Procedures. But the rapporteurs have to work with the government concerned in order to be heard and have their recommendations adopted. They keep in mind that governments come and go but the universality and moral imperatives of human rights remains.

So even if the concerned government ignores or condemns the result of the work under the Special Procedures, the reports of special rapporteurs take on a power of its own to influence the international and national discourse. This will eventually lead to changes in activities, law, and policy by governments who, in the first place, are bound to comply with their state’s international human rights obligations.

Thus, while special rapporteurs do no more than monitor human rights situations, the impact of their work is varied. Their recommendations could influence the development of international law, said Subedi. “Their reports are cited by national and international courts and tribunals, civil society organizations, development partners or donor agencies, academics, researchers, human rights defenders, and governments,” Subedi added.

The currently popular Duterte administration can mock at the toothless Dracula in the UN Human Rights System. It can even afford now to ignore the appeals of the UN bodies and civil society organizations.

In the recent spate of killing in Negros Island --21 lives snuffed out by assassins within 10 days-- police as usual pay lip service to an investigation. Catholic bishops can only urge residents to pray for an end to this impunity. No serious investigation, no accountability.

But the day will come when public opinion catches up with moral imperatives. As is often said: Truth, like gravity, is only ignored at one’s peril.