EU body cites ‘serious concerns’ over PH rights issues

MANILA, Philippines — The European Commission has raised “serious concerns” over killings linked to the Duterte administration’s drug war, attacks on human rights defenders, and the possible reimposition of the death penalty, among others.

In its report biennial report on the Generalised Scheme of Preference (GSP+) released earlier this week, the commission  noted “a number of concerning issues in the case of the Philippines.”

The GSP+ status of the Philippines allowed the country to export over 6,000 product lines to the EU bloc at zero tariffs.

To avail of the GSP+, a country must meet two conditions, namely the non-diversification of exports and low proportions of EU imports; and the ratification of 27 international conventions on human and labor rights, environment and governance principles and effective implementation of these conventions.

“There are a number of concerning issues in the case of the Philippines, including the war on drugs, shrinking civil society space, attacks on human rights defenders, the possible reintroduction of the death penalty, and the lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility,” the commission said in its report.

“Ongoing dialogue is constructive but more needs to be done,” it added.

The report assessed the performance of each of the nine beneficiaries of the GSP+ arrangement, including the Philippines.

The monitoring mission was sent to the Philippines to conduct the assessment from September 27 to 4 October 2018.

‘Persistent ongoing concerns’

According to the commission, “reports of thousands of extrajudicial killings of people allegedly involved in the drug trade and use and the lack of proper investigation” remain to be one of the “persistent ongoing concerns.”

The EU body also expressed concern over “sustained attacks on human rights defenders, political opponents, members of the clergy, journalists, trade unionists, environmental defenders, and indigenous people.”

The commission also called as a “worrying development” the possible reinstatement of the death penalty for drug offenses under the 18th Congress.

It said that the reintroduction of capital punishment would violate the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which the Philippines ratified in 2007.

The commission also said that if a draft bill reducing the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 12 years is passed would go against international standards, as well as recommendations and general comments of the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

“Lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 12 would be against the intention and spirit of the Convention of the Rights of the Child since states are obliged to take into account the maturity and best interests of a child,” the report read.

Fight vs impunity

The commission also took note of the country’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which it said added to the “negative developments” regarding the country’s “fight against impunity.”

The Philippines formally pulled out from the ICC after President Rodrigo Duterte on March 17, 2019, a year after he declared the country’s withdrawal from the Hague-based court.

Before this, the ICC launched a “preliminary examination” in February 2018 on the accusation that Duterte had committed crimes against humanity, following a review of communications and reports documenting the alleged crimes linked to his brutal crackdown on illegal drugs.

The commission also took note of a resolution adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) which seeks to look into the human rights situation in the Philippines

“The HRC expressed ‘concern at the allegations of human rights violations in the Philippines, particularly those involving killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and detention, the intimidation and persecution of or violence against members of civil society, human rights defenders, social activists, indigenous peoples, journalists, lawyers and members of the political opposition, and restrictions on the freedoms of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association’,” it said.

The Philippines remains a member of the UNHRC.

The Philippines government, the EU Commission noted, “has not invited any UN Special Rapporteur since 2016, but is considering inviting some special procedures in 2020.”

Labor rights

Among areas, the commission deemed where “progress is necessary” are issues on child labor as well as “tackling anti-union discrimination and violence.”

“Child labor also remains an area where more progress is necessary. There is still no comprehensive identification and analysis of the challenge, given that the results of the pilot child labor survey have not been processed yet,” the report noted.

“In addition, there is a need to establish a National Child Labour Committee to ensure an overall mechanism to monitor the measures taken to fight child labor,” it added.

The commission also said that the President’s move to veto the Security of Tenure bill “came as a surprise” because the measure “was considered to be key policy to tackle abuse of labor contractualization.”

“In practice, challenges remain in tackling anti-union discrimination and violence and regulating the practice of contractualization,” it said.

“Given the high levels of informal work, it is essential to adopt legislation to bring people from the informal to the formal economy and to ensure their fundamental rights at work,” it added.

The commission, on the other hand, noted progress “in the efforts to establish and improve the functioning of tripartite structures and social dialogue, and the strengthening of the labor inspectorate.”

“Nonetheless, efforts to improve enforcement and monitoring need to be sustained,” the commission added.

The report, meanwhile, noted that the Philippines had maintained the ratification of all 27 GSP+ Conventions.

“The country fulfilled its reporting obligations, albeit with some delays, except under one human rights convention (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination – CERD),” it said.

On the other hand, the commission noted improvements in the Philippines made in addressing poverty, hunger, and unemployment.

Edited by EDV