Human Rights

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Acting Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Mujiv Hataman signed Tuesday the ARMM’s Human Rights Act, a regional law meant to complement the humanitarian components of the national government’s Southern peace process.

MANILA, Philippines – The New York-based Human Rights Watch yesterday said that the absence of successful prosecution of human rights violations highlights the broader problems on extra-judicial killings facing the Aquino administration.

NO SINGLE HR OFFENDER CHARGED — HRW The dismal performance of the two-year Aquino administration in upholding human rights became the focus of the latest report of the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) which noted that President Aquino failed to fulfill his promises to hold accountable security forces responsible for serious abuses since taking…

MANILA, Philippines—The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) commended the Philippines for progress in the country’s human rights records, an Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) human rights officer said Tuesday, despite continued violations as claimed by activist groups.

Noting that prohibition of torture had been highlighted in the United Nations’ review of the Philippine human rights report, a group over the weekend called on the government to adopt the UN call to end all forms of inhuman acts in the country.

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Human rights groups are calling on the government to adopt the recommendation of the United Nations Human Rights Council on absolute prohibition of torture during its universal periodic review held last week in Geneva.

The Philippine government may have taken steps to protect human rights in the country, but it needs to step up its game. This was the emerging view among local and international groups, including the European Union (EU), on the human rights situation in the Philippines, as the country undergoes a second round of a universal…

DESPITE the euro-zone crisis, the head of the European Union in the Philippines said it will not reduce grants on human rights in the Philippines, currently at P128 million, as the situation has not improved in terms of prosecuting those behind the extra-judicial killings, torture and disappearances.

(Reuters) – Large-scale crop plantations are expanding at a rapid pace across southeast Asia, with multinational firms often benefiting the most at the expense of local communities and the environment, two U.N. rights experts warned on Wednesday.

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United Nations member countries should call on the Philippine government during its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council to honor its commitments to ensure accountability for serious human rights abuses.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang conceded yesterday there was still much to be done to ensure media protection in the country, but welcomed the report released by the Washington-based advocacy organization Freedom House ranking the Philippines the highest in press freedom in Southeast Asia in 2012.

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In a continuing effort to support the government of the Philippines in addressing priorities concerning human rights education among soldiers and military officers, the Embassy of Canada recently organized a roundtable discussion for members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and representatives from civil society and the Commission on Human Rights.

A prominent human rights watchdog has voiced disappointment over the slow-paced progress in addressing human rights violation and extra-judicial killings under the government of President Aquino.

An international trade confederation on Thursday said Philippine labor unions are facing an environment of violence and intimidation despite the country’s ratification of internationally recognized standards in the workplace.

Different media groups condemned the brutal attack on The Daily Tribune Malacaang beat reporter Fernan Angeles who was mauled and shot seven times in different parts of the body by still unidentified assailants with the National Press Club (NPC) putting up a P100,000 reward for the identification of the suspects.

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The Philippines should produce more extra-judicial killing convictions if it is to receive the $3-million defense assistance from the United States which it suspended three years ago due to Manila’s failure to account for the unexplained deaths, a senior State Department official said.

MORE journalists were killed during the first two years of President Benigno Aquino 3rd’s term than during the same period under the administrations of then-Presidents Gloria Arroyo, Joseph Estrada, Fidel Ramos and Corazon Aquino, the National Press Club of the Philippines and Alyansa ng Filipinong Mamamahayag (Alliance of Filipino Journalists) said on Thursday.

A United Nations body has declared that continued criminalization of libel as provided under the Philippine penal code violates the obligation of the country to respect freedom of expression as contained in its commitment to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

MANILA, Philippines – The military yesterday challenged the New York-based Human Rights Watch to prove that soldiers were involved in unexplained killings.

In a separate report, HRW said the Philippine government should disable abusive paramilitary forces and take concrete steps to hold those responsible for killings and other rights violations to account.

MANILA, Philippines – The military yesterday belied a report by a New York-based human rights watchdog which claimed that the Philippines has made little progress in addressing human rights violations.

MANILA, Philippines – The New York-based Human Rights Watch said yesterday that the Aquino administration has made little progress in addressing impunity for serious human rights violations despite promises of reform.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines maintained its standing as the third country after Iraq and Somalia in the list of countries with the most number of unsolved murders of journalists in 2011, the New York-based press freedom watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in its yearend survey released yesterday.

THE PHILIPPINES has aligned with international standards against torture, following the Senate’s ratification of a United Nations (UN) treaty.

A CATHOLIC bishop on Friday said that the culture of impunity in the country still remains as numerous cases of extra-judicial killings are yet to be resolved.

The military yesterday blamed the communist New People’s Army (NPA) for at least 212 human rights violations in Southern Luzon and Northern Mindanao regions, directed not only against government targets but also civilians and private business establishments.