PRESS STATEMENT | 04 January 2018
As a member-state, the Philippine government must respect the established mechanisms and special procedures of the United Nations (UN).
United Nations Special Rapporteurs and Independent Experts form part of the special procedures for the monitoring, investigation, and reporting of possible human rights violations by UN member states. The selection process for special rapporteurs and independent experts of the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a highly professional, impartial, and transparent process, involving interviews with a Consultative Group composed of Ambassadors nominated from all the five UN regions. Recommendations for the mandate holders are then forwarded to the President of the UNHRC for the body’s selection and approval.
The findings and recommendations of UN experts present opportunities for collaboration, rather than confrontation. They are meant to be regarded as guides for improving respect for human rights.
On 27 December 2017, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, and UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, both Filipinas, expressed their concern on the possible escalation of militarization in Mindanao after the declaration of martial law has been extended in the region. They articulated their fear that some of the attacks on lumads might be based on unfounded suspicions of their involvement with rebel groups, or that they might be due to their resistance to mining activities within their ancestral lands.
The Commission appeals to the government to seriously consider the expressed concerns of the highly-regarded UN Special Rapporteurs, both of whom are citizens of the Philippines with lifetime involvement on domestic and international issues concerning indigenous peoples and internal displacement, rather than engage in rhetorical assertions concerning their expertise.
On the issue of extra-judicial killings, the Commission reiterates that, while the Philippine government has already sent an invitation to UN Independent Expert Agnes Callamard for the probe to proceed, the conditions set by the current administration violates UN protocols for country visits, which effectively prevents her from independently exercising her mandate. ■