MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government should show its commitment to human rights and democracy not just by words, but also by actions, United Nations (UN) special rapporteur Agnes Callamard said Friday.
During the online forum of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP), Callamard, an international human rights investigator, cited means – as well as challenges – on how the Philippine government can uphold its commitment to the protection of human rights.
“My suggestion would be that the Philippines should demonstrate its stated commitment to human rights and democracy… We need to see action, not just words,” she said.
Among Callamard’s calls include the release of detained Senator Leila de Lima and the dropping of charges against journalist Maria Ressa.
“Instead of targeting independent journalists, instead of targeting human rights defenders and civil society, the government of the Philippines should celebrate them, and should celebrate them as globally recognized, globally awarded members of that global community,” she said.
Callamard added that the government should likewise “put an end to the incitement language by some of its political leaders.”
“Either targeting so-called drug users, meaning the poorest people, the most vulnerable communities of the Philippines, or actors that are at the forefront of fighting for the most vulnerable communities in the country, poor people in urban areas, the incitement language against those individuals must stop,” Callamard said.
“They are a principal matter, a principal justification for the regime of impunity that is characterizing the current human rights violations,” she added.
The government’s justice sector should also demonstrate its commitment to the Constitution “by holding those responsible for violation to account” amid the controversial war-on-drugs campaign and other killings in the country, said Callamard.
“There are many violations now, we’re looking at thousands just in terms of killings that must be answered too,” she said.
“So I think it will be incumbent upon the government of the Philippines to propose and start implementing a clear process towards accountability, characterized by investigation and prosecution to agree on a benchmark for the strengthening of the accountability process,” she added.
During the first Human Rights Summit 2020 in December 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte said the country remains committed to making human rights a priority as he pushed for wider cooperation among different sectors to better protect these rights.
He said the country was one of the few that had signed many of the core human rights treaties, thus affirming “our serious commitment in honoring and fulfilling our treaty obligations and prioritizing the human rights agenda as a means to achieve our country’s sustainable development goals.”
However, these sentiments run contrast to previous statements of Duterte deriding human rights advocates critical of his war on drugs.
The Duterte administration has been hounded with concerns over human rights violations stemming from his controversial drug war and the numerous extra-judicial killings that have taken place in the country.
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