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A United Nations official cited the Philippine
government’s efforts to resolve political killings in the country,
months after he criticized Manila’s alleged inaction on the issue.
Philip Alston, UN special
rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, noted
that “a significant number of initiatives” to address the issue
has been taken by the government since his visit in February,
according to a statement on Monday.
Through Executive Secretary
Eduardo Ermita, Alston thanked the Philippine government for
discussing with him the political killings, a key human-rights
issue.
In a speech last week, Ermita
told the UN General Assembly about the latest steps taken by the
Arroyo administration on the issue.
Manila’s presence at the UN’s
highest level is “important,” Alston said in a statement.
“While clearly I will be very critical of issues that exist at
present, the fact of [Manila’s] invitation and continued
engagement does bring credit to the country.”
Alston delivered a general report
on his mandate to the assembly on October 26 that covered his visit
to the Philippines, the situations in other countries and the
general importance of his role in human-rights protection.
The Philippines was one of the
few countries that had him to look into extrajudicial killings.
“Ninety percent of countries I have identified as warranting a
country visit have failed to cooperate.”
Ermita was the first government
representative given the opportunity to respond, out of 10
countries—China, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Portugal, Russia,
Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United States and Venezuela.
Highlighting the Philippines’
good citizenship in the international human rights system, Alston
called on other countries to “engage as much as possible with the
(UN Human Rights Council’s) special procedures, for the sake of
our shared interest in human rights.”
The Philippines is a member of
the council.
Ermita also underlined the
measures the government has taken to address the killings, including
Department of Justice instructions to expedite such
cases—Administrative Order 18, which orders closer cooperation
between investigators and prosecutors, and the new protective rule
of court, the writ of amparo.
Alston said, “The bottom line
is that only the elimination of such killings . . . will signal that
the situation has turned the corner.”
Ermita agreed that Manila too
wants to see results of its initiatives especially in the form of
convictions.
His intervention was supported by
Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Hilario
Davide Jr., officers of the Philippine Mission in New York, and the
executive director of the Presidential Human Rights Committee, which
is headed by Ermita.
Ermita also met with the UN High
Commissioner, Louise Arbour, the highest UN official on human
rights.
Arbour told Alston that her
meeting with the Philippine official was “very positive and
constructive.”
During the dialogue with Alston
at the General Assembly, nine other countries made comments, many of
them refusing to recognize his mandate to visit, despite the fact
that his office was directly created by the rights council.
Alston said about 30 countries
have not issued invitations as requested, including some council
members (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia) and Security
Council members (China and Russia).
Indonesia and China said they
have not invited the UN official because they have invited other
rapporteurs this past year, while Kenya explained that recent
general elections have not allowed it to invite Alston.
Singapore’s permanent
representative objected to Alston’s stated wish to visit the
country—the number of executions of convicts for crimes such as
drug trafficking—saying these executions are carried out within
the legal framework after a judicial decision and therefore are not
within the special rapporteur’s mandate.
Arbour also commended the
Philippines for being among the few to engage with the special
rapporteur and “continuing to do so constructively.”
Rapporteur lauds govt’s
initiatives
A United Nations official cited
the Philippine government’s efforts to resolve political killings
in the country, months after he criticized Manila’s alleged
inaction on the issue.
Philip Alston, UN special
rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, noted
that “a significant number of initiatives” to address the issue
has been taken by the government since his visit in February,
according to a statement on Monday.
Through Executive Secretary
Eduardo Ermita, Alston thanked the Philippine government for
discussing with him the political killings, a key human-rights
issue.
In a speech last week, Ermita
told the UN General Assembly about the latest steps taken by the
Arroyo administration on the issue.
Manila’s presence at the UN’s
highest level is “important,” Alston said in a statement.
“While clearly I will be very critical of issues that exist at
present, the fact of [Manila’s] invitation and continued
engagement does bring credit to the country.”
Alston delivered a general report
on his mandate to the assembly on October 26 that covered his visit
to the Philippines, the situations in other countries and the
general importance of his role in human-rights protection.
The Philippines was one of the
few countries that had him to look into extrajudicial killings.
“Ninety percent of countries I have identified as warranting a
country visit have failed to cooperate.”
Ermita was the first government
representative given the opportunity to respond, out of 10
countries—China, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Portugal, Russia,
Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United States and Venezuela.
Highlighting the Philippines’
good citizenship in the international human rights system, Alston
called on other countries to “engage as much as possible with the
(UN Human Rights Council’s) special procedures, for the sake of
our shared interest in human rights.”
The Philippines is a member of
the council.
Ermita also underlined the
measures the government has taken to address the killings, including
Department of Justice instructions to expedite such
cases—Administrative Order 18, which orders closer cooperation
between investigators and prosecutors, and the new protective rule
of court, the writ of amparo.
Alston said, “The bottom line
is that only the elimination of such killings . . . will signal that
the situation has turned the corner.”
Ermita agreed that Manila too
wants to see results of its initiatives especially in the form of
convictions.
His intervention was supported by
Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Hilario
Davide Jr., officers of the Philippine Mission in New York, and the
executive director of the Presidential Human Rights Committee, which
is headed by Ermita.
Ermita also met with the UN High
Commissioner, Louise Arbour, the highest UN official on human
rights.
Arbour told Alston that her
meeting with the Philippine official was “very positive and
constructive.”
During the dialogue with Alston
at the General Assembly, nine other countries made comments, many of
them refusing to recognize his mandate to visit, despite the fact
that his office was directly created by the rights council.
Alston said about 30 countries
have not issued invitations as requested, including some council
members (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia) and Security
Council members (China and Russia).
Indonesia and China said they
have not invited the UN official because they have invited other
rapporteurs this past year, while Kenya explained that recent
general elections have not allowed it to invite Alston.
Singapore’s permanent
representative objected to Alston’s stated wish to visit the
country—the number of executions of convicts for crimes such as
drug trafficking—saying these executions are carried out within
the legal framework after a judicial decision and therefore are not
within the special rapporteur’s mandate.
Arbour also commended the
Philippines for being among the few to engage with the special
rapporteur and “continuing to do so constructively.”
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