EU's priority: Promotion, protection of human rights in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - European Union (EU) High Representative Catherine Ashton said yesterday that the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines is EU’s key priority and providing support to human rights defenders and their efforts is a concrete expression of its commitment.

Ashton said the EU supports the work of human rights defenders both politically and financially. In the period 2007-2013, the EU is providing 40 million euros for projects in support of human rights defenders.

This year alone, more than 150 human rights defenders at high risk in different countries around the world have received support from the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).

Apart from direct support to human rights defenders, the EU has also funded activities in the area of election monitoring, violence against women and children, trafficking in human beings, indigenous communities, peace-building activities and (through the EPJUST program) unexplained killings and enforced disappearances.

Ambassador Alistair MacDonald, Head of Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines, said because of the grant, the EU has been able to strengthen the capacities of government agencies as well as civil society in promoting and protecting human rights and democratic reforms, and in facilitating the peaceful resolution of resource-related conflicts.

The ambassador also emphasized that human rights is an area of mutual interest and importance for the Philippines and the EU in their bilateral relations.

“The issue figured prominently in the recently concluded negotiations on the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which the EU and the Philippines will sign in the near future, and it is also included as a priority in the recently adopted EU-Philippines Multi-annual Indicative Program, which gives the strategic priorities for our development cooperation in the coming years,” MacDonald said.

On the occasion of World Human Rights Day, Ashton paid tribute to human rights defenders worldwide who dedicate their lives to promoting and protecting people’s fundamental rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“The struggle against all forms of discrimination is a priority for the EU, be it at home or abroad. Discrimination can take many forms and the EU works closely with civil society campaigners worldwide in their fight against discrimination,” Ashton said.

Phl renews commitment vs death penalty

The Philippines said yesterday that the country has not carried out the death penalty since 2001 and the commutation of sentences of 1,230 death row inmates is a display of the country’s commitment to full respect for human rights.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the commitment of the Philippines to the dignity of every human person and the full respect for human rights is clear and well established.

“The Philippines has not carried out the death penalty since 2001. In June 2006, the country abolished capital punishment altogether through Republic Act 9346. The sentences of 1,230 death row inmates were commuted to life imprisonment, in what Amnesty International said was the largest ever commutation of death sentences,” the DFA said in a statement.

The DFA said the Philippines plays an active role in the campaign for the abolition of capital punishment worldwide, or a moratorium on its implementation, at the very least.

“In this respect, we have made constant appeals for clemency for Filipinos who have been meted the death penalty overseas, particularly in the Middle East, China and in other countries,” the DFA added.

The Philippines has likewise been an early strong advocate and staunch supporter of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights, which offices the country offered to host.

The DFA noted that the country has been a leading voice for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and has urged the Myanmar government to release the 2,100 other prisoners of conscience.

“The Philippines is and will remain a strong advocate for the full respect for human rights,” the statement reads.

The Philippines is prohibited from reintroducing the death penalty after it signed in 2006 the United Nations Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo signed the Second Optional Protocol on behalf of the Philippine government.

By acceding to the Second Optional Protocol for the Protection to the Convention on Civil and Political Rights, the execution of anyone under the law of a ratifying country is prohibited and it implicitly prohibits the reintroduction of the death penalty.

The Philippines binds itself before the world to uphold and protect the life of individuals and turns its back on capital punishment by signing and acceding to the Second Optional Protocol.

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had given the Constitutional mandate against the death penalty a further expression when she signed into law Republic Act 9346, which removed the death penalty.

With the signing of the Second Optional Protocol, the Philippines reemphasized its unrelenting commitment to strengthen the protection of human rights.

Even before the signing and the passage of RA 9346, Arroyo had maintained a moratorium on the carrying out of the death penalty.

The abolition of the death penalty in the country and the signing of the Second Optional Protocol is a fulfillment of the Philippines’ pledge as a founding member of the United Nations Human Rights Council based in Geneva.

The Second Optional abolishes the death penalty and it is one of the five international human rights treaties that make up the International Bill of Human Rights.

The protocol makes it a fundamental human right not to be executed and it prohibits the execution of anyone under the law of a ratifying country. The protocol also implicitly prohibits the reintroduction of the death penalty.

The EU’s efforts to achieve universal abolition of death penalty will continue as it expressed alarm over the numbers and manners of death penalty application worldwide.

Ashton said the EU uses all available means and diplomatic channels to raise public awareness in working towards the goal of abolishing the death penalty throughout the world.

Despite a marked trend towards abolition and restriction of the use of capital punishment in most countries, Ashton said the numbers and manner of death penalty application worldwide remain alarming.