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Did the military high command really think they could
pull the proverbial wool on Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur
on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions? Worse, did they
believe they could get away with it?
The Armed Forces has sought to
minimize the gravity of human-rights abuses in the
Philippines—despite 834 cases of alleged summary killings since
2001. The AFP has, time and again, insisted that many of the mostly
Leftist victims were murdered by their own comrades.
The National Police, on the hand,
claims that its investigation into the killings got nowhere because
the victims’ relatives and other potential witnesses refuse to
cooperate with investigators.
Either, the PNP has no forensic
capabilities to conduct successful investigations—or the police
are simply dragging their feet to cover up for their AFP colleagues.
State of denial
Alston was probably trying to
sound polite when he said that the military was “in a state of
almost total denial” that soldiers were involved in the killings.
“The AFP remains in a state of
almost total denial [as its official response to the Melo report
amply demonstrates] of its need to respond effectively and
authentically to the significant number of killings which have been
convincingly attributed to them,” Alston said in a press statement
issued Wednesday.
Alston made special mention of
Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., AFP chief of staff, for failing to stay
the hand of recently retired Maj. Gen. Jovito “The Butcher”
Palparan, whom left-wing groups accuse of masterminding the killing
of scores of activists.
“When the chief of the AFP
contents himself with telephoning . . . Palparan three times in
order to satisfy himself that the persistent and extensive
allegations against the General were entirely unfounded, rather than
launching a thorough internal investigation, it is clear that there
is still a very long way to go,” Alston said.
Alston and his team took 10 days
to assess the problem—in response to a request from President
Arroyo for international assistance. The mission expects to complete
in three months its report, which it will then submit to the UN
Commission on Human Rights.
The AFP had obviously
underestimated Alston—and his determination to get at the truth.
Had the military delved more closely into his background, which is
readily available online, they would have treated him with more
respect than superficial courtesy.
International reputation
The Australian Alston was
appointed special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or
arbitration executions on July 13, 2004. He is widely regarded in
international circles as indicated by the fact that his appointment
was made “in consultation with representatives of the regional
groups” in the UN Commission on Human Rights.
Special rapporteurs and other
“mandate-holders” of the UNCHR are independent from any
government and serve in their individual capacity. As special
rapporteur, Alston is mandated to examine the phenomenon worldwide
and to submit his findings on an annual basis, together with
conclusions and recommendations, to the UNCHR. He also submits every
other year a report to the UN General Assembly along with his
recommendations for more effective action to combat situations of
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
Prior to his appointment as
special rapporteur, Alston served in various capacities in the UN
system, including chairman of the United Nations Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights from 1991 to 1998, and as its
rapporteur from 1987 to 1990. In 1989 he was appointed by the UN
secretary-general, at the request of the General Assembly, as an
independent expert to report on measures to ensure long-term
effectiveness of the human rights treaty bodies. In that capacity,
Alston presented reports to the General Assembly in 1989, the Vienna
World Conference on Human Rights in 1993 and the Commission on Human
Rights in 1997. In 2002 Alston was appointed as special adviser to
the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Millennium
Development Goals.
Alston is currently a law
professor at New York University and faculty director of NYU’s
Center for Human Rights and Global Justice. He was previously head
of the law department at the European University Institute in
Florence and from 1996 to 1999 directed a major project on the
European Union and Human Rights at the request of the European
Commission.
He has also been a visiting
professor at Harvard Law School (1984-89, 1993) and was founding
director of the Center for International and Public Law at the
Australian National University.
In sum, Alston is no pushover.
Unfortunately—not just for the AFP but for the entire country too,
the military treated him like one.
Not just once has it been
observed—mostly by soldiers themselves—that a country’s armed
forces have the mission of fighting its external enemies. The police
have the mission of protecting the people. But when the military is
made to do the work of the police, it all too often ends up fighting
the people.
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