Philippines
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PH invites UN Special Rapporteur
on Extrajudicial Killings early 2023
PH invites UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings early 2023
United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings (EJKs) Dr. Morris Tidball-Binz has been invited to visit the Philippines in early 2023, Department of Justice (DOJ) Jesus Crispin C. Remulla announced on Monday, Nov. 21.
Remulla said Tidball-Bins, who had been in the country as part of international teams of pathologists to identify the victims of super typhoon Yolanda in 2013, will be among three UN special rapporteurs who will visit the Philippines.
“We expect them to be here early 2023,” Remulla said.
The other two UN officials visiting the Philippines are Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution and pornography Mama Fatima Singhateh, and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan.
Singhateh will be in the Philippines from Nov. 28 to Dec. 8 "to assess the situation and the progress made in combating and preventing the sale and sexual exploitation of children in the light of international human rights norms and standards." Khan will be visiting the Philippines sometime in 2023.
“We are hoping to invite them to the DOJ for a special dialogue for any issue they want to bring up,” Remulla said.
Among the three special rapporteurs only Tidball-Binz was personally invited to visit the Philippines, he said.
“Tayo na mismo nag-imbita on a third one on EJKs (We invited ourselves a third special rapporteur on EJKs). Why? Because we want to increase or do capacity building for our forensic pathologists in the country,” he explained.
He lamented that “right now we only have two licensed, legal, legitimate and actually internationally accepted forensic pathologist in our country.”
“We want every region to have a medico-legal who is a forensic pathologist or at least trained already in forensic pathology,” he said.
He added that the invitation, which Tidball-Bins accepted, was “more of a follow-up already on an agreed program that we had in the UNJP (UN Joint Program) for capacity building of our forensic pathologists.”
He pointed out that “if there are murders or there are deaths that are untimely in the provinces at least they can help us with the investigations.”
“If our people are trained already in the art and the science of forensic pathology then we will have experts in determining the results,” he said.
“But the other side of it of course in the long term is really capacity building for disasters,” added Remulla who cited what happened following super typhoon Yolanda.
At the same time, Remulla noted that Tidball-Binz, on accepting the invitation to come to Philippines, saw “a country that does not deny that there are problems within the system, open to suggestions and open to improving whatever situation that there is here.”
TAGS: #DOJ #Remulla #Tidball-Binz