UN calls on Mailia to set up a national body against torture
The request formulated by a delegation of international experts who visited places of detention, including rehabilitation centres for drug addicts. The current legislation, which dates back to 2009, was judged inadequate.
Manila (AsiaNews) - The representatives of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) who concluded their visit to the Philippines on 14 December, called for the urgent creation of a national body for the prevention of torture. The spread of the phenomenon - according to UN experts - calls for rapid and incisive action that will make the proposed institution, equipped with adequate powers and funding, "an essential partner in the prevention of torture and ill-treatment in the Philippines".
The one just concluded was the second visit by UN specialists in the prevention of the phenomenon and lasted from 3 to 14 December, days in which they visited around forty places of detention in police stations, prisons, drug rehabilitation centres, reformatories, detention centers for immigrants, military facilities and for the repression of drug addiction.
Here the delegates (Moldavian Victor Zaharia, head of delegation, Mauritian Satyabhooshun Gupt Domah, Maldivian Aisha Shujune and German Martin Zinkler, as well as two officials from the Office of the High Commissioner) conducted interviews with staff members and individuals prisoners, examined the treatments imposed at various levels of the repressive and rehabilitative system.
During their stay they also met government officials, members of the Chamber, magistrates, UN representatives and civil society representatives, as well as held talks with the National Commission for Human Rights.
“We have seen first-hand the state's efforts to address issues such as overcrowding in detention facilities, but other major challenges remain. It is essential that in police custody rights are effectively guaranteed at all times and that those deprived of liberty are treated in accordance with the law and international standards,” Zaharia highlighted.
The conclusions of the delegation are contained in the preliminary confidential declaration delivered to the government of Manila with the underlining that "the extent of the problems observed confirms the urgency of establishing an independent mechanism for prevention with free access to every place of deprivation of liberty". Starting with the rapid approval of a specific law currently being examined by the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Data in hand, in fact, the current law against torture - dating back to 2009 - is largely inadequate and above all open to discretion in its application which has given rise to abuses reported several times.
Photo: Philippines Commission on Humnar Rights
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