{Blog about torture, enforced disappearance, EJK and human rights}
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Lobby for the passage of the Anti-Torture (Law) bills
Since the 11th Congress (1998-2001), anti-torture bills have been filed in Congress but it seems that it has never been included in the legislative priority of the administration because up to the 13th Congress (2004-2007), deliberations on this never went beyond the committee level. In the current 14th Congress (2007-2010), House Bill No. 5709 has been approved on third reading by the House of Representatives but in the Senate, the counterpart anti-torture bill, Senate Bill No. 1978, is still awaiting the endorsement of the members of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
support hronlineph
Visit Human Rights Online Philippines
articles and blogs on human rights
House Bill No. 5709 (approved in third reading) na ang HB No. 5846.
ReplyDeleteMAG
CAT/C/PHL/CO/2
ReplyDelete14 May 2009
COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE Forty-second session Geneva, 27 April-15 May 2009
Concluding Observations of the Committee Against Torture, page 4, paragraph 10
"Definition of torture
10. The Committee notes the State party’s statement to the Committee that the Revised Penal Code guarantees that all acts of torture are classified as criminal offences with corresponding penalties under Philippine laws as well as the explanation provided by the delegation in this respect. However, the Committee is concerned that the State party has not incorporated into national law the crime of torture as defined in article 1 of the Convention. While noting information provided as to the recent passage of the Anti-Torture Bill in the House of Representatives, the Committee is concerned at the delay in legislating on this matter. (arts. 1 and 4)
The State party should incorporate into domestic law the crime of torture and adopt a definition of torture that covers all of the elements contained in article 1 of the Convention. By naming and defining the offence of torture in accordance with the Convention and distinct from other crimes, the Committee considers that States parties will directly advance the Convention’s overarching aim of preventing torture, inter alia, by alerting everyone, including perpetrators, victims, and the public, to the special gravity of the crime of torture and by improving the deterrent
effect of the prohibition itself. The Committee therefore urges the State party to enact the Anti-Torture Bill as soon as possible."