THE UPR OF THE : SEVEN STATES RECOMMEND PH RATIFICATION OF ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE CONVENTION

Manila, 10 May 2017 – The 3rd Cycle of the Universal Period Review (UPR) of the Philippines took place on May 8, 2017, in Palais de Nations, in Geneva.

The review process was led by a troika of three member States of the UN Human Rights Council, namely Paraguay, Switzerland, and Kenya.

The Philippine UPR delegation was composed of Sen. and the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs Menardo Guevarra. They presented Philippine UPR Report that highlighted the necessity and justness of the war against drugs, claiming that there are no drug-related extrajudicial killings in the country.

During the interactive dialogue, the Philippines has been heavily criticized for the new wave of killings related to its ‘war against drugs’, which has claimed the lives of more than 9,000 so far.

Moreover, there were two recurrent themes among the interventions made by the States of the United Nations Human Rights Council: the proposed re-introduction of the death penalty, and the lowering of the minimum age of criminal liability. These two have been deemed by the Duterte administration as priority bills. The death penalty bill has already been approved by the House of Representatives of the Philippine Congress and is now pending in the Senate.

In respect to enforced disappearances, eight (8) States expressed concerns over the status of enforced disappearances in the country, namely: Botswana, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, the Holy See Iceland, Iraq and Singapore.

Most importantly, seven (7) States recommended to the Philippine government the ratification or accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, including: Angola, France, Japan, Kenya, Montenegro, Portugal and Uruguay.

The Philippine delegation responded to such recommendation expressing its reservation to the ratification, given that remedies are already in place at the national level and that they are functioning and are being continuously enhanced.

Complementing the recommendation to ratify the Convention, fifteen (15) States— Austria, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sudan, Uruguay, Chile and Costa Rica— recommended that the Philippines take measures to end enforced disappearances, including conducting investigations into the cases.

Based on AFAD’s initial data, a total of twenty-five (25) out of the ninety-six (96) States that posed recommendations during the Philippines’ 3rd UPR Cycle mentioned issues pertaining to enforced disappearances in the country.

AFAD reiterates that the enactment of a national legislation criminalizing enforced disappearances is not sufficient in itself, as full and strict implementation of the law is required in order to deliver justice to the victims. Hence, the need for signing and ratification of the Convention remains imperative.

AFAD thus calls on the Philippine government to take the recommendations it received into serious account, particularly in relation to the signing and ratification of the Convention on Enforced Disappearances, as well as on the importance of conducting serious and impartial investigations in all cases of disappearances.

Signed by,

KHURRAM PARVEZ MARY AILEEN D. BACALSO Chairperson Secretary-General