UN rapporteurs to probe alleged rights violations vs De Lima
Three United Nations (UN) special rapporteurs are slated to look into the alleged violations committed against detained Senator Leila de Lima.
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) earlier referred de Lima’s case to the three special rapporteurs.
The formal referral of the senator’s case was part of the five-point recommendations contained in the 13-page opinion officially adopted by the UNHRC –WGAD during its 82nd session last August 24 and published last November 30.
De Lima, a staunch critic of the Duterte administration, is currently detained at the Philippine National Police custodial center due to her alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison.
According to the senator’s office, the three UN special rapporteurs who will work on de Lima’s case would be the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences and Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.
The opinion stated that the UN Working Group referred De Lima’s case to the three UN special rapporteurs after it found sufficient grounds that violate her rights as a duly-elected senator and a human rights defender.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, is tasked to look into the violations committed against De Lima for her “convictions and public statements regarding extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.”
“The Working Group expresses its serious concerns about the unfavorable remarks made publicly by the President and his allies against her after she expressed her intention to investigate the extrajudicial killings under the so-called war on drugs,” the Opinion stated.
The Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Dubravka Simonovic, is tasked to look into the discrimination committed against De Lima due to her political opinion and her status as a human rights defender and as a woman.
The working group said it considers that de Lima has also been targeted and subject to attacks and discriminatory language due to her gender by the Duterte administration.