Human rights in the Philippines

According to a U.S. Department of State report released in March 2006, Philippine security forces have been responsible for serious human rights abuses despite the efforts of civilian authorities to control them. The report found that although the government generally respected human rights, some security forces elements—particularly the Philippine National Police—practiced extrajudicial killings, vigilantism, disappearances, torture, and arbitrary arrest and detention in their battle against criminals and terrorists. Prison conditions were harsh, and the slow judicial process as well as corrupt police, judges, and prosecutors impaired due process and the rule of law. Besides criminals and terrorists, human rights activists, left-wing political activists, and Muslims were sometimes the victims of improper police conduct. Violence against women and abuse of children remained serious problems, and some children were pressed into slave labor and prostitution.

On Wednesday Dec. 7, 2006 International Labor Rights Fund's Brian Campbell tried to enter the Philippines to continue investigations of recent human rights violations and murders in the Philippines. Mr. Campbell had previously visited the Philippines in early 2006 to investigate various deaths of trade unionists including Diosdado Fortuna.^[1] On Dec 7, Mr. Campbell was informed he was on a blacklist by the Filipino immigration authorities and was barred from entering the country. Mr. Campbell then was immediately forced to leave the country.^[2]

1 United Nations Investigation
2 Press Freedom
3 References
4 See also

[edit] United Nations Investigation

Since 2001 when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo began her term in office over 800 people have been victims of extra-judicial killings. ^[3] In 2007, The UN's Special Rapporteur on Extra Judicial Killings, Philip Alston spent 10 days in the Philippines investigating these killings. The UN's Special Rapporteur spoke to witnesses and victims, as well as senior members of the military and the government. He found that witnesses have been systematically intimidated and harassed. He says the military is implicated directly or indirectly in a significant number of deaths.^[4] Victims over the past six years have included trade unionists, farmers' rights activists, people from indigenous communities, lawyers, journalists, human rights campaigners and people of religion.^[3] The European Commission (EC) sent a six-man team of experts from the European Union (EU) to the Philippines on a 10-day mission to evaluate needs and identify technical assistance that the EU might provide to help its government prosecute those behind the killings.^[5]^{[not in citation given]}

[edit] Press Freedom

The fifth annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index released by the international press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF)has ranked the Philippines among the worst-ranked countries for 2006 at 142nd place. It indicates the continuing murders of journalists and increased legal harassment in the form of libel suits as part of the problem in the Philippines.^[6] Between 1986 to 2005, 52 journalists have been murdered.^[7]