Sunday, April 20, 2008 Ermita addresses UN on political violence in RP
EXECUTIVE Secretary Eduardo Ermita said he was able to hurdle the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva because he had nine resource persons from government agencies in his entourage to back him up.
Ermita, who also chairs the Presidential Human Rights Committee, said he was prepared to face the UNHRC last April 11 and that 90 to 95 percent of those who gave comments on his presentation appreciated the fact that the Philippine delegation addressed their concerns.
"I had nine resource persons coming from justice, social welfare, local government, defense and foreign affairs departments; Commission on Human Rights; National Economic and Development Authority; National Anti-Poverty Commission; and National Commission on Indigenous Peoples," he said.
He claimed the militant groups failed to catch the attention of the UNHRC because they believe that human rights is only confined to the issue on extrajudicial killing of political activists and media practitioners.
He said many of the questions involved what the Philippine government is doing with regard to the rights of children in conflict, women, indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities.
He said he also touched on the Philippines' compliance with the Millenium Development Goals in order to address the poverty problem, which cuts across human rights in all aspects.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in her speech at the first assembly of the Association of Generals and Flag Officers (Agfo) at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City last Friday, said government has been very successful in tackling the problem of political violence since the formation of the Melo Commission.
Extrajudicial killings are down and prosecutions are up. "We congratulate our police, our military," Arroyo said even as he also congratulated Ermita.
She reiterated that political killings are down by 83 percent compared to last year but her government would not be satisfied until it is reduced to zero. (JMR/Sunnex)
