UN special rights rapporteur to visit Phl next year
The United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings has committed to visit the Philippines next year but has yet to address the condition of the government that she allow President Duterte to question her under oath.
A briefing note released yesterday said Agnes Callamard sent her confirmation reply last Nov. 11.
“She reminded the government of her previous communications and reiterated her interest in a joint visit with the Special Rapporteur on the right to health, along with the organization of a joint expert consultation on drug control strategies and policies,” read the briefing note posted on the website of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights.
In the briefing note, Callamard stressed that her visit should be covered by the terms of reference that should be approved by the government.
These include freedom of movement in any part of the country, freedom of inquiry; assurance that no person who will cooperate with the team will suffer threats, harassment or intimidation; appropriate security measures and extension of same guarantees to UN staff who will assist in the visit. Callamard said she received the formal invitation dated Sept. 26 only on Oct. 24.
In the invitation, signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, the Philippine government told Callamard to “see for yourself” whether the criticisms against Duterte’s war on drugs are legally and factually sound.
Medialdea also asked Callamard that the President be allowed to propound his own questions to her or to anyone in her team.
“The right to be heard is a great principle which every nation recognizes,” read the letter.
He also set as condition that the people the President would question would swear under oath to tell only the truth and nothing but the truth. Callamard has yet to respond to the conditions set by Malacañang.
In the briefing note, the special rapporteur said the visit – to last for one to two weeks – will “examine the level of protection of the right to life in law and in practice in the concerned country.”
“The Special Rapporteur’s inquiries into cases of unlawful killings or summary executions are of a fact-finding nature only (monitoring and reporting). They are not of a criminal, judicial or quasi-judicial nature,” it added.
A debriefing with high-level government officials and a press conference will also be conducted at the end of the visit.
“The Special Rapporteur submits a report on her country visit to the following session of the Human Rights Council,” the briefing note read.
“The report sets out and analyzes the impressions of the Special Rapporteur during the visit and makes recommendations to the Government and other actors on upholding the right to life. The concerned government is given a draft of the report for comments before its final submission,” it added.