4TH AFAD Congress
Resolution on Human Rights Situation in the Philippines
5 June 2010, Bogor, Indonesia
WHEREAS enforced disappearance has continued unabated in the Philippine
since the dark days of Martial law up to the current administration of
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
during
which,
more than two thousand
victims of disappearances have been reported and documented;
WHEREAS enforced
disappearance is mostly carried out by the military and police forces to
silence partisan opposition and crackdown political dissent as part of
its counter insurgency policies and operations;
WHEREAS in spite of
the national and international pressures to address the alarming
phenomenon of enforced disappearances in the country, the Philippine
government fails to take concrete steps to investigate the cases and to
bring those who are responsible to justice;
WHEREAS, in spite
of the promulgation of the Writ of Amparo, cases filed in court failed
to find the whereabouts of the disappeared and to bring the perpetrators
to justice, thus, resulting in a continuing an atmosphere of impunity;
WHEREAS the
anti-disappearance bill was filed and refiled in the Philippine Congress
during these last 16 years but until now it has not seen the light of
day and that codifying enforced disappearance as a distinct criminal
offense will guarantee indictment of the perpetrators and recognition of
the rights of the victims and their families;
WHEREAS one of the
voluntary pledges and commitments of the Philippine government as a
member of the UN Human Rights Council and during its submission to the
Universal Periodic Review was to sign and ratify the International
Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearances.
Notwithstanding, the
efforts of human rights groups to lobby and remind the Philippine
government of its international commitments, it has yet to sign and
ratify the Convention at the soonest time possible;
WHEREAS the
incoming president, President Benigno Aquino 111, who vowed during the
electoral campaign to bring about changes in public governance should
prove himself different from his predecessors by incorporating human
rights as part of government's priority list of improvements.
THEREFORE, we the
delegates and participants in the Fourth Congress of the Asian
Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances with the theme –
:
“Consolidate the Gains of More than a Decade of Struggle: Face the
Challenges of the Entry into Force of the Convention,”
held in Bogor, Nepal from June 1 to 5, 2010, WE RESOLVE, as it is
hereby RESOLVED to strongly urge the incoming administration of
President Benigno Aquino 111 to fulfill the human rights aspirations of
the Filipino people by undertake the following measures:
-
To ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law by issuing
Executive Order that will strictly regulate military operations which
commonly lead to numerous human rights violations such as unlawful
arrests, secret detention, enforced disappearances, torture and other
forms of cruel inhuman and degrading treatment, and extrajudicial
executions in the name of national security;
-
To review the government’s plan to resolve the long standing
insurgency and to establish a mechanism for a genuine peace process
among conflicting parties in the country;
-
To institute genuine reforms in the judiciary and to encourage it to
continue to implement the recommendations of the Supreme Court during
its Consultative Summit on Extra-Judicial Killings and Enforced
Disappearances in June 2007;
-
To disband all private armies and civilian volunteer units which are
usually used as hired goons of politicians;
-
To put to a stop on the practice of arbitrary or secret detention and
close down any
secret
detention facilities in operation, including those in military camps
and police safe houses;
-
To immediately sign without further delay the International Convention
for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances and
ensure steps towards ratification;
-
To expedite the enactment of anti-disappearance bill into law;
-
To certify as urgent the ratification by the Philippine Senate of the
Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
-
Amend Republic Act No. 9372 or the Human Security Act of 2007 to
ensure that no person will be unjustly detained and persecuted by mere
suspicion; and
-
To amend or improve the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit
(Republic Act 6981) that will guarantee a better protection and
security to victims and their families as well as the witnesses and
other people involved in the investigation and litigation.
-
To positively respond to the still pending request for official
invitation of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances to visit the country.
SIGNED BY THE DELEGATES AND PARTICIPANTS of the AFAD’s Fourth Congress
on 1-5 June 2010 in Bogor, Indonesia
For further information, please contact:
MUGIYANTO
AFAD Chairperson
081399825960
THE DELEGATES
Fourth AFAD Congress
31 May – 5 June 2010
Jakarta and Bogor, Indonesia
