EU Tells RP: ‘Take Decisive Action’

December 3, 2007  --  Got something to say?
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MANILA A delegation of European Union parliamentarians has urged the Arroyo government to take decisive action on the cases of human rights violations, specifically unexplained killings, now that the countrys judiciary is assuming a pro-active role in addressing the problem.

Jules Maaten of the Netherlands, one of the nine parliamentarians who were in the country last week, said they met with government officials about what steps they have taken to address the issue. The EU officials also praised the Supreme Court for taking steps to help curb cases of human rights violations. In Europe we are very pleased by the move that was taken by the Supreme Court, Maaten told reporters in an interview.

Hartmut Nassauer, also a member of the European Parliament, likewise lauded the SC. (This is) proof of the independence of the judiciary. (It is a) pillar of the state of law, he said.

Maaten, however, said the main responsibility of addressing the problem should fall on the executive branch. The responsibility for making sure that this is resolved is with the political leaders, he said.

Maaten said the subject of human rights is a big issue in Europe.
Its very worrying because the Philippines is one of the most democratic countries in Asia and we have seen with great worry that democracy has come under threat in some Asian countries,” he said, adding that the EU is willing to assist the Philippine government in any way to resolve the issue.

Nassauer said human rights violations are something that pose concern on the quality of the state of law.” He noted the importance of addressing the issue because international perception of the Philippines is in a certain way linked to this internal problem.

European Union (EU) parliamentarians voiced concern over the human rights situation in the Philippines and lamented the alleged involvement of some of the countrys security forces in the commission of extra-judicial killings against left-wing militants.

Germanys Hartmut Nassauer, member of the European Parliament and chairman of the delegation for relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), said a worsening human rights condition is a sign of a weakening state of law.

Its something that poses concern on the quality of the state of law.
We see democracy always linked to state of law. Without democracy, without a state of law, there are no human rights,” Nassauer told reporters.

I hope the government will take all measures necessary to solve the problem of extra-judicial killings. Its sad that some parts of the Armed Forces could be involved. Thats a point of concern and the EU is ready to support in all steps to solve this problem,” he added.

For his part, Jules Maaten, EU parliamentarian from The Netherlands, expressed alarm over the rising number of militants being killed or have disappeared.

In Singapore, the Philippine News Agency reported that President Arroyo underscored the creation of a human rights body for the entire Asean.

In her speech at the informal dinner of the 13th Asean Leaders Meeting held in Singapore, the President said Asean leaders stand on the frontiers of a new era for our region with the Asean Charter, a task that we started at our Summit in Cebu.”
In drafting that important document, the Philippines insisted that the protection of human rights be a crucial and indispensable part of that Charter,” she said.

I am pleased that in our draft, we will establish a human rights body, she added.
The nine visiting European Parliamentarians, who were in Manila until Nov. 23, also met with their counterparts in the House of Representatives and the Senate in the framework of its regular interparliamentary dialogs.

The visiting delegation is led by Nassauer (Germany) and includes Maaten, Ms. Giovanna Corda (Belgium), Mr. Jean-Pierre Audy France), Ms. Barbara Weiler (Germany), Mr. Szabolcs Fazakas (Hungary), Mr. Csaba Ory (Hungary), Mr. Dariusz Grabowski (Poland) and Mr. Glyn Ford (United Kingdom).

Ambassador Alistair MacDonald, Head of the European Commission Delegation in Manila, said the Parliaments visit to Manila is the first since 2002, and is a welcome confirmation of Europes abiding interest in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, a ranking official of the World Council of Churches criticized the US-backed antiterrorism campaign in the Philippines, saying it could lead to human rights abuses.

Dr. Samuel Kobia is general secretary of the Geneva-based council, the single biggest ecumenical organization of Christian churches in the world which claims more than 340 churches and denominations of about 550 million Christian members in more than 120 countries.

We are deeply concerned with the way the US government supports the Philippine government militarily, and the way it conducts its antiterrorism campaign,, Kobia told The Manila Times in an exclusive interview Nov. 21.

Sometimes, it is used as a pretext in violating human rights with impunity as long as [the US government] secures [its] work on antiterrorism,” he explained.

Many officers of the World Council of Churches have come from the Philippines, and the group has been instrumental in bringing to international attention alleged violations of human rights in the country.

Kobia delivered a keynote speech Nov. 22 at the start of the 22nd General Convention of the National Council of Churches of the Philippines in Quezon City.

International human rights conventions and treaties.
In its report to the UNHRC, the Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples Rights (Karapatan) accused the Arroyo government of making human rights violations a national policy.”

Karapatan secretary-general Marie Hilao Enriquez, who personally This came as the countrys biggest human rights alliance and an umbrella of Protestant churches have submitted scathing reports to the United Nations Human Rights Council ahead of the review to be made on the Arroyo governments human rights record slated for April 2008.

The April 2008 review will be a first for the Philippines under the new universal periodic review mechanism adopted by the UN General Assembly which will hold the country answerable to its obligations under submitted the groups report to the UNHRC in Geneva on Nov. 20, said that despite its formal commitment to or legal ratification of various international instruments, its enactment of a few legislative and executive measures, and even despite its belated condemnation of extrajudicial killings, the Filipino people are still subjected to continuing gross and systematic human rights violations amidst an atmosphere of impunity.”

The Philippine National Police also released a report about actions taken by the government about the killings and missing persons.

The Karapatan report claimed the following: Victims of extrajudicial killings now number 886, including 96 women, 59 children, and 391 activists; victims of enforced disappearances have gone up to 179, including 29 women, four children and 61 activists; 53 journalists have been killed under Arroyo?s watch, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines; and there are 235 political prisoners, including 29 women, held in prisons nationwide; about 204 of them were arrested under Arroyo.

Karapatan said that to date, none of the real perpetrators in the killings and disappearances has been convicted and punished, reflecting not only a failure of the criminal justice system to protect human rights but more so the resolve of the Arroyo administration to put an end to this outrage.”


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