Palace: Dismal human rights situation, just view of Amnesty International

Local and international groups have once again assailed the Philippine government for the reportedly dismal state of human rights in the country, but officials remain smug that it will again be cleared of the accusations. In its annual report on global human rights, the Amnesty International (AI) scored military and rebel groups for their alleged lapses, as well as the government’s failure to eliminate private armed groups. The group said that these contributed most to cases of human rights violations in 2009. In Mindanao for example, more than 200,000 civilians remain in camps or makeshift shelters and at times surrounded by heavy military presence, despite the ceasefire between the government and Muslim separatist rebels. [See: Lapses of military, NPA contributed to human rights violations, group says] However, deputy presidential spokesperson Gary Olivar said the report is just “the view of AI." The Philippine Human Rights Committee, headed by former Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, has received praises last year for the supposed improved human rights record of the government, including from UN watchdog agencies, Olivar said. He likewise dismissed the plan of some non-government organizations to bring the case of the Morong 43 to the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC). “We are confident that an impartial international body based on evidence, not NGO propaganda, will again clear our government on this issue too," Olivar said On Thursday, human rights groups said they will bring the case of the 43 health workers and other human rights violations under the Arroyo administration in the coming human rights session of the United Nations in Geneva in Switzerland. The five-member delegation is set to attend the 14th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on May 31 to June 18, to seek the international body’s help in putting an end to the continuing human rights violations in the country. The Philippines is a member of the UNHRC. According to human rights group Karapatan, there were 1,991 victims of extrajudicial killings, 205 victims of enforced disappearances, 1,208 victims of torture, and hundreds of thousands more displaced in rural areas due to military operations under the Arroyo administration. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV