Roque: Callamard is no expert in extrajudicial killings

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential spokesman Harry Roque on Tuesday questioned why Agnes Callamard was appointed United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings when her expertise was on freedom of expression, in the latest episode of tit-for-tat between the two.

Roque said that he did not know of any qualifications that would make Callamard a good special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings as she had no prosecutorial and court appearance experience.

"This Agnes Callamard, I can't understand why she became an expert on against [sic] illegal killing. I know her. Her field is freedom of expression. I can concede that she is an expert on freedom of expression, but to be a special rapporteur on extrajudicial killing, I don't know of her qualifications," Roque said in Filipino in a radio interview.

"She did not appear before a court regularly to prosecute crime and murder cases. She does not have special research on extralegal killing," the presidential spokesperson added.

The exchange of blistering comments between Roque and the UN official started when the presidential spokesperson claimed that UN special rapporteurs Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and Cecilia Jimenez-Damary used their positions to "embarrass" President Rodrigo Duterte's administration before the international community.

The two rapporteurs warned that the ongoing militarization in Mindanao had a "massive and potentially irreversible" effect on the human rights of some Lumads.

This prompted Roque to tell the two to be more circumspect in their statements which appeared to be "very partisan" as they were nominated by the erstwhile Aquino administration.

Callamard then issued a correction and stressed that special rapporteurs were appointed by the UN Human Rights Council as experts with "proven expertise and experience."

This however did not sit well with Roque, who insisted that special rapporteurs were elected.

"More than 30 states are members of the UN Human Rights Council. That's why when I said that they were elected I was correct. The UN Human Rights Council appoints, but the process of appointment must be done after its member-states have already made an agreement. Isn't that what you call an election?" Roque said in the radio interview.

"You can't be designated to that office, no matter how good you are, even if you are a world-renowned expert, if you will not be nominated by your country. No UN official has been appointed to his post without his country's nomination," Roque added.

According to the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner website, candidates to the position of special rapporteurs and mandate-holders can be appointed by governments, the regional groups operating within the UN system, international organizations or their offices, non-governmental organizations and other human rights bodies and individuals.

A consultative group appointed by the UNHRC would then review all applications and propose a list of candidates to the president of the UN human rights body.

The UNHROHC said that the following criteria would be observed in selecting among the candidates: a) expertise; (b) experience in the field of the mandate; (c) independence; (d) impartiality; (e) personal integrity; and (f) objectivity.

There would also be due emphasis on gender balance and equitable geographic representation and representation of different legal systems.

"Individuals in decision-making positions in Government or in any other organization or entity which may give rise to a conflict of interest with the responsibilities inherent to the mandate are excluded from being appointed as experts," it added.

Roque said that Callamard's failure to come to the Philippines and investigate into alleged extrajudicial killings attending the government's war on drugs was already proof of her failure in her job as a UN special rapporteur.

"[That] is proof that she has failed in her job because she could not enter the Philippines to conduct an investigation because she keeps on criticizing the government," Roque said.

READ: Duterte warns Callamard: If you investigate me, I'll slap you