A United Nations mission to the Philippines has called on the national government to create a torture prevention panel tasked to handle torture and maltreatment of prisoners or criminal suspects by law enforcers.
The delegation issued the call at the conclusion of its 11-day visit to the country to look into the local authorities’ treatment of detainees.
“The State Party should fast-track the adoption of the bills currently in the House of Representatives and the Senate, which will create the national monitoring body officially called National Preventive Mechanism, and we welcome the invitation to provide technical assistance in this regard,” said Victor Zaharia, head of the delegation.
“The magnitude of issues observed by the delegation reaffirms the urgency of establishing an independent torture prevention mechanism with unrestricted access to all places of deprivation of liberty. This national mechanism, with adequate resources, will be a key partner in preventing torture and ill-treatment in the Philippines,” Zaharia added.
During its stay in the Philippines from 3 to 14 December, the delegation visited over 40 places of detention facilities across the country, including police stations, jails, prisons, and drug rehabilitation centers.
They also visited reformation and education facilities for minors, immigration detention centers, as well as military and drug enforcement agency holding facilities.
The mission conducted confidential interviews with staff members and people held in those
institutions, and examined the treatment of individuals in different stages of the criminal or rehabilitation system.
“We witnessed first-hand the State party’s initiatives to tackle issues such as overcrowding in detention facilities, but major challenges lie ahead. It is vital that safeguards in police custody are effectively guaranteed at all times, and that people deprived of their liberty are treated in accordance with the law and international standards,” Zaharia said.
During the visit, the delegation met with government officials, members of the House of Representatives, the judiciary, UN representatives, and civil society.
The UN team also held discussions with the National Commission on Human Rights.
At the end of the visit, the delegation presented its confidential preliminary observations to the Philippine government, to be followed by a confidential report containing detailed observations and recommendations to further prevent torture and ill-treatment of prisoners or people deprived of liberty.
The delegation consisted of Victor ZAHARIA (Moldova), head of the delegation, Satyabhooshun Gupt DOMAH (Mauritius), Aisha Shujune MUHAMMAD (Maldives), Martin ZINKLER (Germany). It was accompanied by two Human Rights officers from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.