IN 1997, and again in 2002, reforms in the United Nations gained ground in Geneva and New York, respectively. These reforms came in the heels of then-Secretary General Kofi Annan’s challenge to the UN’s “continued significance” in the face of 21st century realities. He called for improvements in how the UN conducts its work, implements its mandate and manages the funds entrusted to it by its Member States in order to bring human rights to all peoples of the world.
These reforms took a significant turn during the General Assembly’s 60th session. The world’s leaders adopted UNGA Resolution 60/251 on the 15th of March 2006, which created the Human Rights Council (HRC). The HR Council is now a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly, taking over the role of the Commission on Human Rights, which was created under article 68 of the UN Charter on Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The HRC was mandated to conduct a Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a mechanism to evaluate each member state’s human rights commitments. The said review shall be a cooperative mechanism, based on an interactive dialog, with the full involvement of the country concerned and with consideration given to its capacity-building needs. The UPR is intended to complement and not duplicate the work of treaty bodies.
Read more about UPR @ Renato Mabunga, PhD's Blog Free Zone
Excerpts from Joint Civil Society Report for the 2nd Cycle
Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
This submission was prepared through facilitation of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) with assistance of the Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights) in coordination with sixty-three (63) civil society organizations (see annex 1).
Four (4) national workshops and consultations1 including one with Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP) were conducted to gather inputs and recommendations for this report.
Read and access the complete report @ www.philippinehumanrights.org
Torture, extra-judicial killings (EJKs), and enforced disappearance
From 2008-2011, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) documented 23 cases of EJKs claiming 30 victims; and 105 cases of torture with 163 victims while Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) documented 79 victims - 50 surfaced alive; 24 still missing; and 5 found dead.
Atty. Al Parreno, in recent study10 documented 31 cases of EJKs from 2008 to August 15, 2010 with 8 incidences under Aquino administration. The same research unearthed 305 cases from 2001-August 2010 of which 32% of victims were human rights defenders (HRDs). From same 305 EJK cases, 56.29% were filed before prosecutors, 33.22% prosecuted, 32.52% tried in court, and only 1.05% had convictions. In short, 99% of 305 cases surveyed remain unsolved.
