UN Doc. A/HRC/21/12, 21 May – 4 June 2012
Introduction
1. The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), established in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 of 18 June 2007, held its thirteenth session from 21 May to 4 June 2012. The review of the Philippines was held at the 11th meeting on 29 May 2012. The delegation of the Philippines was headed by Ms. Leila M. De Lima, Secretary (Minister), Department of Justice. At its 17th meeting held on 1 June 2012, the Working Group adopted the report on the Philippines.
2. On 3 May 2012, the Human Rights Council selected the following group of rapporteurs (troika) to facilitate the review of the Philippines: Hungary, Qatar, and Uganda.
3. In accordance with paragraph 15 of the annex to resolution 5/1 and paragraph 5 of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 16/21 of 25 March 2011, the following documents were issued for the review of the Philippines:
(a) A national report submitted/written presentation made in accordance with paragraph 15 (a) (A/HRC/WG.6/13/PHL/1);
(b) A compilation prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (b) (A/HRC/WG.6/13/PHL/2);
(c) A summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) (A/HRC/WG.6/13/PHL/3).
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II. Conclusions and/or recommendations
129.12. Further its efforts to effectively eliminate extrajudicial killings (Republic of Korea); Continue its efforts to tackle extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance to strengthen the rule of law and respect for human rights (Singapore); Work towards the complete elimination of torture and extrajudicial killings, and intensify efforts to carry out the prosecution of such crimes (Holy See);
129.13. Carry out impartial investigations into all allegations of enforced disappearances perpetrated by law enforcement officers (Germany); Conduct independent and impartial inquiry in relation to all enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions and that the perpetrators of these crimes be brought to justice (France); Continue to work as a matter of urgency to ensure that there are mechanisms to completely eliminate torture and extrajudicial killings, and to intensify its efforts to carry out investigations and prosecutions on extrajudicial killings and punish those responsible (Trinidad and Tobago);
129.14. Effectively fight against extrajudicial killings, including by non-State actors, by strengthening accountability mechanisms and implementing the necessary reforms (Germany) ;
129.15. Eliminate completely extrajudicial executions, as promised in the previous UPR, in this way bringing to justice those responsible and intensify efforts to eradicate the use of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment from the armed and security forces of the State (Spain); End impunity for extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture, including those perpetrated by security forces, by undertaking thorough investigations and vigorous prosecutions of perpetrators (United States of America);
129.16. Take further steps to combat extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, including by providing sufficient funding to the national police force and by ensuring that alleged perpetrators of extrajudicial killings are swiftly brought to justice (Sweden); Continue to reassess the necessity, and, where the need exists, consider devising programmes that incorporate the prohibition of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances for the Philippines Army and National Police; and establish the adequate safeguards and monitoring mechanisms to guarantee compliance (Timor-Leste); Ensure that the police and National Bureau of Investigation pursue serious rights violations allegedly committed by military and police personnel (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland);
129.17. Continue its efforts to fully prohibit torture and eliminate all forms of other ill-treatment at every level (Republic of Korea); Continue to consolidate its national action aimed at prohibiting torture (Egypt);
129.18. Prevent cases of torture in facilities of detention through the provision of legal safeguards for detainees and effective investigations into allegations of torture and the prosecution and sentencing of perpetrators (Austria);
129.19. Reinforce its training programmes for all law enforcement personnel on the absolute prohibition of torture (Turkey);
129.20. Effectively implement the Anti-Torture Act with a special focus on the responsibility of superior officers, access to medical services and the establishment of a sufficiently resourced rehabilitation programme for victims (Ireland); Carry out the necessary measures to implement fully the 2009 Act against Torture, making special emphasis in investigation and sanction of those responsible for each crime (Mexico); Effectively implement the 2009 Anti-Torture Act, with a particular focus on ensuring that all investigations and prosecutions of allegations of torture and ill-treatment fully cover the possibility of command responsibility as stipulated in section 13 of the Act (Denmark);
129.21. Establish without delay a national mechanism to prevent torture, such as provided for by the OP-CAT (France); Start an open, transparent and inclusive consultation on the most appropriate National Preventive Mechanism (New Zealand); Prepare and implement an action plan for the establishment of an effective OPCAT-compliant National Preventative Mechanism, with access to the necessary resources for it to adequately fulfil its mandate (Denmark);
129.22. Recognize victims of trafficking, often young people, as such and provide them with protection and assistance (Norway);
129.23. Ensure the effective enforcement of domestic legislation and further strive to eradicate human trafficking though cooperation with the international community, including by accepting a visit by the Special Rapporteur (Japan);
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129.26. Continue with judicial reform, improving the capacity of the penal system to combat impunity (Spain);
129.27. Allocate adequate resources to the National Monitoring Mechanism to ensure it effectively carries out its mandate (South Africa);
129.28. Continue its efforts in addressing cases or reports of past incidents of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearance and torture in the country, including through the EPJUST Programme, the Joint Coordinating Centers on Private Armies, and the National Monitoring Mechanism (Indonesia);
129.29. Take measures to resolve the cases of delayed justice and impunity, including through judicial reforms (Republic of Korea); Effectively fight impunity for cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance committed by the armed forces and the police, as well as non-state actors (Austria); Address concerns about impunity, through reforms in the criminal justice system, as well as by ensuring the speedy investigation, arrest, prosecution, trial and conviction of perpetrators (Netherlands);
129.30. Continue efforts to combat impunity and ensure alleged perpetrators of serious human rights violations are brought to justice, including through renewed efforts to arrest Major General Jovito Palparan Jr., former Governor Joel Reyes and the perpetrators of the Maguindanao massacre (Australia);
129.31. Take new, additional measures, to ensure that the military exercises full control over Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units and the police over Civilian Volunteer Organizations, holding these units accountable for the Philippines’ obligations under international human rights law (United States of America);
129.32. Promote accountability by taking the necessary measures to allow the responsible entities (such as the Ministry of Justice, the National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Commission on Human Rights and the Office of the Ombudsman) to conduct investigations into allegations of human rights violations in an efficient, independent and impartial manner so that justice is served (Canada);
129.33. Take immediate measures to effectively implement the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 (Norway);
129.34. Continue improving the conditions of detention centres and ensure that juvenile offenders do not share spaces of detention with adult offenders (Ecuador); Improve prison conditions in line with the BJMP Modernization Act and with special regard to assuring the separation of the child and juvenile from adult prisoners (Germany);
129.35. Take necessary measures to provide adequate protection to journalists and human rights defenders, in particular regarding enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings (France);
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131. The following recommendations will be examined by the Philippines which will provide responses in due time, but no later than the 21st session of the Human Rights Council in September 2012:
131.1. Consider the possibility of strengthening efforts to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances (Argentina); Consider ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CED) (Belgium); Consider ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and enact domestic legislation to penalize enforced disappearance as defined in that Convention (Brazil); Ratify the International convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CED) in a timely manner, as was recommended during the previous review (Japan); Ratify the CED without delay and criminalize enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in its national legislation (France);Accelerate the speedy enactment and implementation of CED (Chile);
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131.6. Consider the possibility of ratifying the OP-ICESCR (Palestine); Sign the OP-ICESCR (Portugal); Ratify OP-ICESCR (Germany);
131.7. Consider an early ratification of the newest international human rights instrument – the third OP to CRC on a communication procedure (Slovakia);
131.8. Withdraw all reservations to OP-CAT (Slovenia);
131.9. Fully align the national legislation with all obligations arising out of the Rome Statute of the ICC (Slovakia); Take the necessary measures to ensure that the Rome Statute is fully implemented in its national legislation (Switzerland); Adapt its national legislation to the requirement of the Rome Statute (Belgium); Review its national legislation in order to ensure its full alignment with obligations under the Rome Statute, including incorporating the Rome Statute definition of crimes and general principles, as well as adopting provisions enabling cooperation with the Court (Latvia);
131.10. Adopt legislation to ensure full cooperation with the ICC and to accede to the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of ICC (Slovenia); Fully align its national legislation with the Rome Statute, including by incorporating the definition of crimes and principles and acceding to the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Court (APIC) (Liechtenstein);
131.11. Ratify the Kampala amendments to the Rome Statute (Liechtenstein);
131.12. Promulgate draft law 2817, approved by the Philippine Senate in July 2011, which defines and sanctions enforced disappearances (Canada);
131.13. Take on challenges facing the Philippines Human Rights Commission and strengthen it on the institutional level (Iraq);
131.14. Extend standing invitation to all special procedures of the Human Rights Council (Uruguay); Extend a standing invitation to special procedures of the Human Rights Council (Madagascar); Issue a standing invitation to all United Nations Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups (Austria); Consider issuing a standing invitation to special procedures for a visit to the country (Slovenia); Engage further with the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms and consider positively the pending requests for visits by mandate holder and extend an open invitation to all special procedures of the HRC (Portugal); Step up cooperation with special procedures mandate holders by responding positively to the pending visit requests and eventually consider extending a standing invitation to all special procedures mandate holders of the Human Rights Council (Latvia);
131.15. Engage in closer contact with United Nations bodies and, inter alia, accept the request by the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders to visit the country (Norway); Accept the request of the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances to visit the country (Mexico); Invite the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders to visit the Philippines (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland);
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131.18. Effectively implement the 2009 Anti-Torture Act, with a particular focus on ensuring that all alleged victims of torture and ill-treatment have effective access to a medical evaluation of their injuries by institutionalising the use of the Istanbul Protocol, including by providing guidelines to judges, prosecutes, forensic doctors and medical personnel dealing with detained persons, to detect and document physical and psychological trauma of torture (Denmark);
131.19. Communicate on a regular basis to the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines a list of all detainees indicating their place of detention (Germany);
131.20. Embark on substantial reform of its judicial system in order to achieve progressive development for human rights (Norway);
131.21. Ensure, in the context of the judicial reform, a gender sensitive and accessible judiciary, both in terms of procedures and attitude (Austria);
131.22. Strengthen its legal framework, institutions and instruments aimed at guaranteeing that those responsible for crimes of extrajudicial executions are subjected to fair procedure and, if convicted, punished (Switzerland);
131.23. Update the Human Rights Council on the findings of the National Monitoring Mechanism and the measures taken to address the issue of extrajudicial killings, including the results of the relevant court procedures (Hungary);
131.24. Revoke executive order 546 which has been used as a basis for armed civilian volunteer units (Netherlands);
131.25. Dismantle and disarm the paramilitary forces, militias and armies through the revocation of Executive Order 546 that protects their existence, putting an end to the use of child soldiers (Spain);
131.26. Disarm and dismantle all paramilitary organizations and private militias, or, short of a complete dismantling, ensure that the army exercises control over all militias and that the Minister of National Defense defines their role and puts in place mechanisms so that they are held accountable for their actions (Canada);
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131.32. Enhance its cooperation with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders including by accepting the mandate holder’s request to visit the country and finally, take urgent measures to end extra-judicial killings, and enforced disappearances of human rights defenders, to investigate all cases and bring those responsible to justice. (Ireland);
131.33. Amend the abortion law to allow for safe abortion in cases of rape, incest or when the health and life of the pregnant woman is at risk (Sweden);
131.34. Provide complete and accurate information and access to all methods of family planning irrespective of sex or religion and embed this policy in a legal framework with the adoption of the pending Reproductive Health Bill. (Netherlands);
131.35. Establish a legal framework in order to help women and men develop knowledge to enable them to decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including their sexual and reproductive health (Norway).
132. All conclusions and/or recommendations contained in the present report reflect the position of the submitting State(s) and/or the State under review. They should not be construed as endorsed by the Working Group as a whole.
