In the midst of growing concerns by the international community and some local quarters over the epidemic of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, there has been calls to invite Dr. Agnes Callamard, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, to come to the country and ferret out the facts.
In response to this proposal, on several occasions, and in the official letter of the government through the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Duterte administration has invited Callamard to come to the country but on condition that she debate with the President publicly about her findings. Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay has been quoted for asking Callamard to apologize for the harm she has done the country—a strange demand given that the UN rapporteur actually has not made any findings about the situation here precisely because she has not been here yet. All that Callamard has done so far is voice concern based on press reports and offer to come here if invited. She wants to get to the bottom of the allegations that people are being killed without due process and in a manner which qualifies the killing to be extrajudicial, meaning that they are state-sanctioned or tolerated.
The UN Rapporteur is appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council, an inter-government body within the UN tasked to promote and protect human rights around the globe, to look into human rights violations and make recommendations to address them. The UNHRC created this system of Special Procedures Mandate Holders as an innovative, transparent and consultative way of enforcing internationally recognized human rights norms. It is designed in the context of the sensitivity of countries zealous about their sovereignty, assuring objectivity and independence, and hopefully providing some relief for the targets and victims of human rights voilations.
Special rapporteurs, special representatives and independent experts are highly qualified individuals appointed based on their expertise on human rights. Generally, in the performance of their mandate, they do the following actions: undertake in-person country visits to assess human rights violations, communicate directly with states on alleged human rights violations by sending urgent appeals or letters of allegation, make recommendations to states for preventing, ending, or remedying violations, convene expert consultations, conduct thematic studies, raise awareness of human rights issues, provide advice for adherence to human rights standards, receive information from individuals and civil society, engage in advocacy, and contribute to the overall development of human rights standards.
As independent experts, as Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, herself a special rapporteur, has pointed out in a Facebook post, they will not be bound by conditions imposed by governments. According to Vicky:
“She will determine her itinerary and who she would like to speak with without government intervention. Her talks with victims of human rights violations are confidential and she is obliged to protect people she speaks with so that they will not be subjected to government reprisals after she leaves or during her visits. She does not do public debates with government officials but she will hold confidential meetings as well with government officials. It is only at the end of her visit that she will present a debriefing or terminal report of the mission to government officials to get their feedback. She will also do a press briefing on the initial observations and recommendations she has after her debriefing session with government. Before she finally publishes her official country mission report she sends the government a copy of the draft for their comments. After she receives these comments she will finalise the report and present this before the UN Human Rights Council. This is the usual conduct of an official country mission and all governments should know this because they are sent the terms of reference on what a Special Procedures Mandate Holder can and cannot do.”
I have seen up close how these special rapporteurs work. Being the epitome of fairness, due process and professionalism, they always provide governments opportunities to clarify or respond to their findings. Although they are passionate individuals who feel strongly for human rights, I have never seen these individuals lose their cool and objectivity no matter the issues they have had to face, including downright resentment and hostility from the government and other interested groups threatened by their work. Their independence and objectivity are assured by the fact that they are not paid for this work. Only travel expenses and the usual diplomatic courtesies are provided by the United Nations to these extraordinary individuals.
Currently, there are around three dozen of these Special Procedures Mandate Holders – Special Rapporteurs, Special Representatives, and Independent Experts, some with mandates for countries such as Burundi, Eritrea, Haiti, Cambodia, Sudan, Somalia, Myanmar North Korea, Iran and others with mandates on groups of people such as indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, children, human rights defenders, Judges and Lawyers, older persons, and internally displaced persons. There also individuals and working groups with mandates on issues as diverse as access to safe drinking water and sanitation, environment, education, free speech, contemporary forms of slavery, albinism, extreme poverty and human rights, violence against women, torture, right to privacy, freedom of religion, and of course the mandate Callamard holds, which is on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
Right now, there are four Filipinos who play are formally part of this global human rights system. They are: Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, Special Rapporteur on indigenous people’s rights; Cecilia Jimenez, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons; Virginia Bonoan Dandan, Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity; and, Ricardo Sunga III who chairs the UN Working Group on People of African Descent (the latter has been investigating and has concluded that human rights violations are committed in the United States in the shootings of unarmed African Americans, disproving the accusation that only developing countries are being targeted by this innovative human rights system). I know all of these four Filipinos personally and they are truly to be admired and emulated. Our country should be proud of them and the fact that they were chosen is an honor for us as a country of great human rights defenders.
As for Callamard, the French UN Rapporteur in the hot seat now, her credential speaks for her competence, integrity and credibility. She is currently the Director of Columbia University Global Freedom of Expression, and before that spent nine years as the Executive Director of ARTICLE 19, the international human rights organization promoting freedom of expression globally. She once worked for Amnesty International (AI), leading its policy work and research on women’s human rights. According to the website of the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, “she has led human rights investigations in more than 30 countries and published extensively, in both English and French, on human rights, women’s rights, freedom of expression, refugee movements and the methodology of human rights investigation.
So lets get on with it and abide by the international law on human rights, let’s warmly welcome Callamard by adopting the usual terms of reference for special rapporteurs. It’s the right thing to do.
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