UN rapporteurs urge Phl lawmakers to reject death penalty

Two independent experts of the United Nations have urged Philippine lawmakers to reject the proposal to reinstate death penalty in the country.

In a joint statement, UN special rapporteurs Agnes Callamard and Nils Melzer expressed concern over the passage of the proposal at the House of Representatives earlier this month.

“If approved, the bill will set the Philippines starkly against the global trend towards abolition and would entail a violation of the country’s obligations under international law,” they said.

Callamard is the special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, while Melzer is the special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. According to the experts, the Philippines has an obligation not to reimpose death penalty, citing the country’s decision to sign the Second Optional Protocol to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights that forbids executions and commits the signatories to abolish the death penalty.

“Not only was the treaty ratified and widely advertised, but State authorities have also expressly confirmed on numerous occasions its validity and binding nature on the Philippines, without raising any concerns over the procedure through which it had been ratified,” the rapporteurs said.

“The move would constitute a departure from the country’s regional leadership and global position as advocate of the abolition of the death penalty in international forums,” they added.

The UN experts noted that 141 states in the world, or two-thirds of all countries, have abolished death penalty.

“It is inconceivable that a country which has been at the forefront of the campaign against the death penalty would restore it, in clear violation of its obligations under the protocol,” they said.

The rapporteurs also noted that the inclusion of drug-related offenses as those punishable by death is not permitted under international law as these are not among those identified as among the most serious crimes.

“Drug-related offenses do not meet this threshold,” said Callamard and Melzer.

“The lack of any persuasive evidence that the death penalty contributes more than any other punishment to reducing criminality or drug-trafficking. Therefore, reintroducing this punishment as a deterrent for drug-trafficking is as illegal as it is futile,” they added.

A top human rights policy official of Germany has also expressed alarm over the move of the House of Representatives to pass a bill reinstating death penalty in the Philippines.

In a statement, Bärbel Kofler, federal government commissioner for human rights policy and humanitarian aid, said she is “deeply worried.”

“Ever since it signed the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Philippines has been considered a close partner of those who, like the federal government, reject this inhumane punishment under all circumstances,” she added.

She also lamented that nearly 8,000 people were killed since President Duterte began his war on drugs.

“Against this background, I see an urgent need for a visit by Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. I call on the government of the Philippines to withdraw the conditions it has set and that to date have prevented Ms. Callamard from conducting a country visit.”

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