Filtered By: Topstories
News

HK-based group urges RP to act on cases of torture


MANILA, Philippines - A Hong Kong-based rights group pushed for judicial remedy for torture victims in the country as the world marks the United Nations' International Day in Support of Victims of Torture Thursday. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) lamented the absence of any legal remedy for torture victims even if the Philippine Constitution provides for their protection. Moreover, “torture has not been declared a crime in the Philippines," the AHRC said in a statement posted on its website Wednesday night. The AHRC also urged the Philippine Supreme Court to develop and adopt remedies for victims of torture even as it called on Congress to enact a law against torture. "Recognizing a right is meaningless if those who claim that their rights have been violated cannot obtain any legal remedy or relief," it said. Worse, it said, the Supreme Court has not acknowledged yet that correcting this legal deficiency has been long overdue. The AHRC noted that in other Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Art. 126 of their 1978 Constitution gives their Supreme Court authority to have "the sole and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine any question relating to the infringement or imminent infringement by executive or administrative action of any fundamental right." In contrast, torture victims in the Philippines are deprived not only of remedies, but are also forced to suffer physical injuries and psychological trauma without any remedy, the AHRC said. "Sri Lanka has already complied with its obligation under the UN convention against torture. The Philippines, which signed and ratified 1987 the same treaty, has not done so," it said. - GMANews.TV
LOADING CONTENT