The Philippines has “no state policy to attack, harass or intimidate human rights defenders, lawyers and other practitioners of the legal profession, and members of the media.”
This was pointed out by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla on Wednesday, Nov. 16, during the adoption of the recommendations of the Working Group of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Philippines that was conducted by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland.
Remulla said “the Philippines is a vibrant democracy where freedom of expression, including the right to hold dissenting opinions, and the right of peaceful assembly are protected.”
“Claims of a shrinking civic and media space are unfounded. They arise from a particular politico-security context that is oftentimes overlooked by those that view the Philippines from afar,” he said.
He lamented that “my country has the unfortunate distinction of dealing with the longest-running armed communist insurgency in the world, whose adherents deliberately blur the lines between civic activism and armed violence.”
“They use human rights as a tool to advance their violent agenda, claiming red-tagging and reprisal when the State exercises its duty to protect the human rights to life, liberty, security of persons, and property; and to preserve national security and safeguard the democratic order,” he stressed.
He urged that “in the interest of fairness and objectivity, we call on our colleagues – partners -- in the UN to exercise due diligence in the consideration of allegations received from various sources.”
“The sad reality is that this armed conflict has curtailed the Filipino people’s right to development, causing unimaginable suffering to many families, particularly those whose children have been recruited to bear arms against the government,” Remulla said.
But he assured UNHRC that the Philippine government “is determined to end this problem by addressing its root causes through a whole-of-nation strategy anchored on good governance, rule of law, social justice that will effectively uplift human dignity, and the quest for lasting peace.”
He also assured that the Philippine government will “continue to cooperate with civil society, and together bring about the peace and progress that the Filipino people richly deserve.”
Remulla addressed the issue on the safety of human rights defenders and journalists after identifying this as among the three matters raised by a number of delegations at the UPR of the Philippines. The other two issues were climate change and accountability.
He assured that the Philippines, under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., will “do its utmost to strengthen domestic accountability mechanisms to deliver ‘Real Justice in Real Time’ to all Filipinos.”
“We will never tolerate the abuse of power and use of force beyond the bounds of law,” he stressed.
At the same time, Remulla pointed out that extrajudicial killing is “not state policy” and that extrajudicial killing during anti-illegal drugs operations “runs counter to the tenets of due process and the rule of law.”
The DOJ chief said the Philippines is also renewing is appeal “for developed countries to increase financing for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage for developing countries.”
“We expect nothing less from our friends and partners that have been the beacon of human rights and justice the world over,” he said.
Remulla assured that the Philippine government will adopt many of the recommendations made during the UPR.
“The promotion and protection of human rights is a solemn Constitutional commitment and constant endeavor that the Government of the Philippines shall never waver from. In this spirit, and as preliminary action, we are proud to announce the acceptance of 200 recommendations – more than two-thirds of all the recommendations during our UPR,” he told the UNHRC.
“We do so because these are important areas and issues in which the Government is already working, and in many cases, even going beyond the accepted recommendations. They fall within the scope of and bolster the Philippine Government’s ongoing human rights policies, programs, and initiatives,” he explained.
He said the recommendations the Philippine government accepted include those that concerns the UN Joint Program, the Philippine Commission on Human Rights, a National Human Rights Action Plan, combating discrimination and gender-based violence, maintaining a moratorium on the death penalty, preventing extra-judicial killings, conducting independent investigations, decongesting prisons, further expanding access to justice, protecting human rights defenders and journalists, promoting the rights to education, health, and adequate standard of living, as well as upholding the rights of persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, women, children, refugees, and stateless persons.
On the recommendations the Philippines did not adopt, Remulla explained that his delegation “observed some claims and recommendations that we believe rest on less than solid premises or are not in line with our cultural values, religious beliefs, and national identity.”
TAGS: #Remulla #UNHRC # PH Human Rights