UK funds medical workers training for rights cases

MANILA, Philippines—To help fight extra-judicial killings, torture and other forms of human rights abuses, the British government is providing P4 million in funding so that medical professionals could better document abuses and provide testimony in court.

In a media briefing, British Ambassador to Manila Stephen Lillie said the British Embassy has linked up with the Medical Action Group (MAG), the Commission on Human Rights, and the Association of Municipal Health Officers of the Philippines (AMHOP) to strengthen cases against human rights abusers.

The project—”Improving prosecution of cases of torture, extrajudicial killings (EJks) by building the capacity of medical professionals to gather evidence and give testimony”—will be funded by the British Embassy’s Human Rights and Democracy Program.

“This is to emphasize the role that medical documentation and proper legal processes play in the investigation and prosecution of cases of torture and other human rights violations. Torturers and perpetrators of human rights violations must be held accountable, and victims and survivors must be given access to justice and redress,” Lillie said.

The embassy said the project would “forge on increasing capacity of medical professionals for improved prosecution of human rights violations cases.”

“The medical professionals are in essence a key to prevent impunity. They are often among the first persons to come into contact with victims of torture and other human rights violations,” it said in a statement.

The embassy noted that medical documentation and medico-legal reports were important facts that can be used as evidence in legal or administrative proceedings for prosecuting human rights violations cases and facilitating redress and reparation for survivors.

“The need to increase the capacity of health professionals in medical documentation represents recognition that effective and quality documentation of torture and other cases of human rights violations can contribute mightily to reducing impunity in the Philippines and obtaining redress,” said Edeliza P. Hernandez, MAG executive director.

For its part, AMHOP has declared its support for the effective implementation of Republic Act No. 9745 or the Anti-Torture Act which states that “all medical examiners conducting the examinations… are under a legal and ethical obligation to conduct a diligent and complete medical examination” and for a more effective campaign against torture and other human rights violations cases throughout the country.

The AMHOP is an organization of 1,400 municipal and city health officers nationwide.

Human rights lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) and forensic pathologist expert Dr. Raquel del Rosario-Fortun have agreed to facilitate their training, which will cover human rights standards, court litigation and legal medicine for human rights violations cases.

The British Embassy said it was providing £59,131.72 (P4.1 million) for the eight-month project.

In 2004, the embassy and MAG also facilitated the production of the groundbreaking “Guidelines to Prevent Torture and the Manual on the Recognition, Documentation and Reporting of Torture.”

The CHR acknowledged the valuable contribution the project made towards fulfillment of Philippines’ international human rights obligations, and still uses the manual in its work. –Philip C. Tubeza, Philippine Daily Inquirer