41ème session du Conseil des Droits de l'Homme : Déclaration orale sur la détérioration de la situation des droits de l'homme aux Philippines

Item 2: General debate on the High Commissioner’s oral update

Statement delivered by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

Thank you, Mr. President.

OMCT, in solidarity with the In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDEFEND) and the Philippine Alliance for Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), welcomes the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms. Michelle Bachelet’s oral update, and echoes her concerns over the deterioration of the human rights situation in the Philippines.

Our organisations are alarmed by the unabated surge in extra-judicial killings, increased police abuse and use of torture - including of children - notably in the framework of President Duterte’s ‘war’ on drugs, with a death toll now estimated at over 27,000 victims. This has also led to a dramatic increase of incarcerations, including of children, with prison overcrowding up to 550%.

It is deeply troubling that the Philippines have taken steps to shield from accountability for these violations, not only by withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC) but also by undermining national institutions that have attempted to address impunity. We are concerned by the rising criminalisation, vilification, red-tagging of and rising violence against human rights defenders, who are systematically arrested on trumped-up charges, threatened, and killed in total impunity. The environment in which they operate is also increasingly deteriorating, including through invasive registration and financial procedures for NGOs.

We further deeply regret the Government’s efforts to re-introduce the death penalty, to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility and to amend the 2007 Human Security Act.

We call on the Human Rights Council to adopt a strong resolution calling on the Philippines to abide by its membership obligations to uphold the highest human rights standards. Such as resolution would inter alia establish an independent international investigation into extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations, as well as mandate the OHCHR to

monitor the human rights situation in the country.

Thank you, Mr. President.