Remember Repression, Remember Resistance, Remember Courage -TFDP

Remember Repression, Remember Resistance, Remember Courage

Thank you for joining this year’s June 26 campaign International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Forum-dialogue

July 3, 2014


Dear all,

Thank you for joining this year’s June 26 campaign International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, by attending and actively participating in the forum-dialogue at the InterContinental Hotel in Makati City organized by the Medical Action Group (MAG) and Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) in coordination with the United Against Torture Coalition (UATC)- Philippines and in partnership with the European Union (EU) Delegation to the Philippines.

The forum-dialogue brought together key stakeholders in torture prevention from government, National Human Rights Institution, security sector, diplomatic community, civil society organizations to media. The forum-dialogue highlights our commitment to provide justice to torture victims and their families, and collates our voices to one call to “End Torture in the Philippines”.

June 26 Declaration on the Fight against Torture Impunity in the Philippines

Photo by Medical Action Group

June 26 Declaration on the Fight against Torture Impunity in the Philippines

The undersigned participants of the Forum-Dialogue, “End Torture in the Philippines” held at the InterContinental Hotel in Makati City, Philippines on June 26, 2014, International Day in Support of Victims of Torture have adopted the following:

Considering,

1.      That torture is one of the most serious violations of human rights; it destroys dignity, body and mind and has far reaching effect on family and community; freedom from torture is enshrined in various international human rights instruments and national laws; and prohibition of torture is absolute and can never be justified in any circumstance or “non-derogable”;

Bearing in mind,

2.      That crime of torture is committed against men, women and children. In most cases, torture perpetrators go unpunished;

3.      That impunity is the failure of the authorities to fully investigate violations; to bring to justice and punish perpetrators; to provide victims with ef­fective remedies; and to take all necessary steps to prevent the violation to happen again;

MAKE THE WHEEL OF JUSTICE WORK-UATC

Photo by Medical Action Group

UATC STATEMENT

June 26, 2014

MAKE THE WHEEL OF JUSTICE WORK

Fight Impunity, Demand for Accountability

Today, we, the United Against Torture Coalition (UATC)-Philippines and various anti-torture advocates on the eight consecutive year marks the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture through the “Basta! Run Against Torture 8” (BRAT VIII) as we renew our resonating call to stop torture and to fight impunity.

While the UATC recognizes the significant improvement in the legal protection against torture in the Philippines, we observed that the implementation of the law and policies has not been made so far with due diligence and efficacy as torture remains prevalent and is still being committed with total impunity. Every year, we are expecting new cases to undoubtedly arise.

NITOY WAS A FALL GUY AND ONLY ADMITTED KILLING ROWE BECAUSE HE WAS TORTURED. #StopTorture!

NITOY WAS A FALL GUY AND ONLY ADMITTED KILLING ROWE BECAUSE HE WAS TORTURED. #StopTorture!

August 27, 1989, 6:30 in the evening. Down South in Mindanao, Juanito, a 25-year old bachelor, had boarded a passenger jeep on his way to church. Suddenly it was blocked by a vehicle loaded with armed men. “A hold-up”, Juanito thought, but the men got hold of him, bound his arms and legs, blindfolded him and threw him the back of the van, the way it is done with pigs for their last trip to the slaughterhouse.

All throughout the night and the next day he was interrogated, beaten and choked by different shifts to force him into confessing of being the triggerman in the Rowe murder, until he lost consciousness. A few days later, Juanito was presented to the press as a prize catch and subsequently condemned to serve a life sentence in Muntinlupa, the huge penitentiary South of Manila...