UN: RP guilty of ‘denial of justice’
In death of 2 activists
By Nikko Dizon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:20:00 11/24/2008
Filed Under: Human Rights, Murder, Government, Foreign affairs & international relations
MANILA, Philippines -- The United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has released a report saying the Philippine government violated provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in the murders of activists Eden Marcellana and Eddie Gumanoy in 2003.
Copies of the report were distributed to media on Monday by the militant human rights group Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights), which represented Marcellana's and Gumanoy's kin in the complaint they filed before the UNHRC in March 2006, after the Arroyo government's alleged inaction on the double-murder case.
In a 12-page report, the committee said the government violated the following in the Covenant: the right of violated persons to effective remedies and the State ensuring that such remedies are provided and enforced (Article 2, Paragraph 3); the right to life of every person (Article 6, Paragraph 1); and the right to liberty and security of persons (Article 6, Paragraph 1).
"In the present case, though over five years have elapsed since the killings took place, the State party's authorities have not indicted, prosecuted, or brought to justice anyone in connection with these events."
"The Committee notes that the State party's prosecutorial authorities have, after a preliminary investigation, decided not to initiate criminal proceedings against one of the suspects due to lack of sufficient evidence."
"The Committee has not been provided with any information, other than about initiatives at the policy level, as to whether any investigations were carried out to ascertain the responsibilty of the other members of the armed group identified by the witnesses," the report said.
The committee concluded that the "absence of investigations to establish responsibility for the kidnapping and murder of the victims amounted to a denial of justice."
"The State party must accordingly be held to be in breach of its obligation under Article 6, in conjunction with Article 2, Paragraph 3, properly to investigate the death of the victims and take appropriate action against those found guilty," the report said.
The committee, which is under the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, is the UN treaty body that monitors state parties' compliance with the ICCPR.
The committee said that the Philippine government "is under an obligation to provide the authors [victims' kin] with an effective remedy, including initiation and pursuit of criminal proceedings to establish responsibility for the kidnapping and death of the victims, and payment of appropriate compensation."
It also stressed that the Philippine government should take measures to "ensure that such violations do not recur in the future."
Karapatan secretary general Marie Hilao-Enriquez said the Committee's November 11 report was received by her group last Friday.
Enriquez said that the UN Committee report would make a strong evidence on the alleged human rights violations committed by the government, one of the bases of the impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The deaths of Marcellana and Gumanoy in 2006 were blamed by their colleagues on alleged henchmen of then Army colonel Jovito Palparan, who headed the 204th Army Infantry Brigade in Mindoro Oriental.
Marcellana used to be the secretary general of Karapatan in Southern Tagalog while Gumanoy was once the chairperson of Kasama TK, an organization of farmers.
The two were leading a fact-finding mission on the abduction of three people allegedly perpetrated by the 204th IB. The fact-finding team suspected they were placed under surveillance in Mindoro Oriental since then.
After concluding their mission, Marcellana and Gumanoy, with their colleagues, left Gloria town for Calapan City on April 21, 2003 but were seized by 10 armed men.
The two activist leaders were taken by the armed men. Their bodies were found the next day. Both had been shot dead.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) dismissed the kidnapping and murder complaints filed by Karapatan against the suspects on the ground of insufficient evidence, as well as the subsequent petition for review and motion for reconsideration.
On May 22, 2007, Karapatan appealed the DoJ's decisions before the Office of the President. The appeal remains pending to this day.
In response to Karapatan's complaint before the UN Committee on Human Rights, the Philippine government said the group and the victims' kin failed to establish "how the State party has violated the Covenant."
The government also stressed that the creation of the Melo Commission to look into the alleged extrajudicial killings of activists and journalists was its response to the problem.
Moreover, the government said the human rights organizations failed to inform the UN Human Rights Commission on the number of victims of extrajudicial killings and the reasons why they believed the military was behind the killings.
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