International tribunal launched to try HR cases

MANILA, Philippines - The International People’s Tribunal (IPT) to try cases of human rights violations under the Aquino administration was launched the other day at the University of the Philippines-Diliman.

The IPT will focus on human rights violations in the Philippines and will hold President Aquino and the United States government accountable before the international community.

The IPT is set to convene on July 16-18 in Washington. Former US congresswoman and peace advocate Cynthia McKinney will be among the distinguished panel of jurors who will hear live testimonies of witnesses from the Philippines.

Conveners of the tribunal include the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, National Lawyers Guild, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers and IBON International.

“Brutal repression of people’s civil and political rights abound, with hundreds of cases of extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances and massive displacement of families,” said Cristina Palabay of human rights group Karapatan, one of the complainants to the IPT.

The IPT will also probe the relation between increased US military presence and intervention in the Philippines with the worsening state of human rights in the country.

“The Mamasapano operation raises questions over the extent of the US military’s involvement in Philippine domestic security. Meanwhile, the Philippine government’s failure to assert jurisdiction over US Marine officer Joseph Scott Pemberton for the murder of Jennifer Laude highlights how unequal ties between the US and the Philippines invite impunity,” according to Vanessa Lucas of the US-based National Lawyers Guild.

Rev. Canon Barry Naylor, chair of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, said that while the IPT is judicially non-binding, it is symbolic and significant.

“People’s tribunals have had success in directing international attention to grave abuses of human rights in various countries including the Philippines during the Marcos and Arroyo regimes. The IPT draws inspiration and builds on the momentum of previous peoples’ tribunals to advance human rights and hold governments to account,” he explained.