Asian Regional Seminar Addressing the economic, social and cultural root causes of torture and other forms of violence

MANILA,the Philippines 26 to 30 October 2009 Fighting torture and other forms of ill-treatmentby addressing their economic, social and cultural root causes From 26-30 October, 20 participants from 10 countries throughout Asiamet in Manila to attend the Asian Regional Seminar on addressing the economic,social and cultural root causes of torture and other forms of violence. The seminar was organised by the WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the Philippine Alliance of Human RightsAdvocates (PAHRA), in cooperation with the Commission on Human Rights of thePhilippines (CHRP). The opening ceremony on 26 October was addressed by Atty. Leila De Lima,the Chair of the CHRP and Ambassador Alistair MacDonald, Head of the Delegationof the European Commission in Manila. Both guest speakers underlined the commitment of their organisations to fighting against torture, recognizing that the majority of those whoare subjected to torture are themarginalised and vulnerable sectors ofsociety, or those involved in defending their rights. The aim of the seminar was to explore the ways in which violations ofeconomic, social and cultural rights are linked to violence and how acting onthose root causes can in turn reduce levels of violence. In order to provide a substantive frameworkfor the seminar’s discussions, presentations based on OMCT’s research andexperience were made on how disrespect for economic, social and cultural rightscan lead to violence (Mr. Tom McCarthy, Special Adviser), how the UnitedNations human rights system can be used to address those root causes and how tobring about change by action files and other forms of intervention (Ms. JastineBarrett, Human Rights Consultant). Representatives from the Filipino NGOs, PAHRA and Karapatan (Alliancefor the Advancement of People’s Rights), also shared their experiences onworking with OMCT in addressing the root causes at the international level. In addition, an overviewof the European Union’s (EU) policy on the eradication of torture with aparticular focus on the EU’s activities in the area of human rights andgovernance at the country level was given by Ambassador MacDonald, and a guestspeaker from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) gave a substantivepresentation on the role of the UNDP in addressing the economic, social andcultural root causes of torture and other forms of violence. Ms. Karen Gomez Dumpit shared the CHRP’sexperiences in addressing these root causes, providing the participants with acomprehensive insight into the role of national human rights institutions inthis area. All the presentations were followed by lively discussions withparticipants, and the participants expressed appreciation for having been ableto deepen their understanding of the economic, social and cultural root causesof violence. During the seminar, the participantspresented and discussed case-studies examining the economic, social andcultural root causes of torture in their countries. The cases presented by the participantsindicated that, time and time again, the principal victims of violence comefrom the most vulnerable segments of society such as the poor, indigenouspeoples, women, minorities, as well as economic, social and cultural rightsdefenders. Additionally, theparticipants identified a number of issues that they considered to beapplicable across the Asian region. These included environmental degradation and human rights violationsresulting from the exploitation of natural resources, unequal landdistribution, trafficking of women and children, exploitation of migrantworkers, corruption, extra-judicial killings and the targeting of human rightsdefenders. They also expressed a desireto establish an “early warning system” to reduce the potential of human rightsviolations and the resultant possible violence. More specifically, the papers that were prepared by participants inadvance of the seminar and that were analysed in the course of the seminarincluded the following: - Harassment of,discrimination and violence against women [frequently on religious grounds]; -Slavery like conditions of labourers in the agricultural, manufacturing andmining sectors, who, because of their weak economic position and marginalisation, are subjected to bonded labour and denied most economic,social and cultural rights;-Unequal treatment of, discrimination and violence against tribal communities, religious minorities and lower caste peoples;- Omission by the State to correct gross inequalitiesand uneven distribution of resources; - Criminalisation ofpoverty, leading to the imprisonment of the poor, criminalisation of socialprotests, false charges against the poor, and impunity for police violenceagainst the poor;- Widespread poverty and environmental damage caused by extractiveindustry, accompanied by the denial to use the revenues of the extractions tobenefit the local populations (and the links with corruption) who are subjectedto violence when they call for respect for their rights;-Indigenous communities subjected to gross human rights violations includingforced evictions and violence linked to development projects; -Conflict over land allocationleading to protest by farming communities and resulting in violent repressionby government forces; and- Extra-judicial killings and a culture of impunity resulting in aclimate of fear amongst defenders of economic, social and cultural rights. These and other cases were analysed in working groups where they were enriched through anenthusiastic exchange of experience and ideas. The participants developedconcrete recommendations on the type of action needed to effectively addressthese root causes. They also focused on lists of key national and internationalactors to whom to address their concerns and recommendations. The proposals for action that resulted are beingfurther refined by participants in their own countries and, in cooperation withOMCT, may be presented to governments, international bodies and private sectoractors. At the end of the seminar, Mr. Yves Berthelot,President of OMCT and former Executive Secretary, United Nations EconomicCommission for Europe, provided a thoughtful summing up of the proceedings,encouraging participants to continue in their fight against torture and other cruel, inhumanor degrading treatment or punishment in Asia and underlining OMCT’s support fortheir work. This seminar was part of a largerOMCT project aimed at addressing the economic, social and cultural root causesof torture and other forms of violence which has received substantial supportfrom the European Union. Manila, 6 November 2009