AHRC questions the membership of
former President Arroyo in the International Commission against the
Death Penalty (ICDP)
(An Open Letter from the Asian Human
Rights Commission to Mr. Federico Mayor, President of the
International Commission against the Death Penalty)
Mr. Federico Mayor
President
International Commission against the Death Penalty
C/o The Secretariat
Edificio Torres Ágora, Serrano Galvache
26, 28071
Madrid
SPAIN
Tel: +34 91 394 89 53
Email:
asunta.vivo@icomdp.org
Dear Mr. Mayor,
The Asian Human Rights
Commission (AHRC) is writing to express its deepest concern at the
inclusion of Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former president of the
Republic of the Philippines, as one of the 12 members of the ICDP.
The AHRC and its
sister organisation, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), which has
Consultative Status at the United Nations, have been working for the
protection and promotion of human rights in countries in Asia,
including the Philippines – of which Mrs. Arroyo is a former head of
State.
We have also been
involved in the campaign against the death penalty in countries where
our assistance is sought. Of late are the cases in Saudi Arabia where
we are assisting Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan domestic helper who was
sentenced to death and in the Philippines the case of the Abadilla
Five, the five torture victims who were sentenced to death prior to
the abolition of the death penalty in the country.
We seriously question
the credibility of Mrs. Arroyo's membership of the ICDP in advocating
for the abolition of the death penalty. During Mrs. Arroyo's term as
President in the Philippines, what we witnessed was not the execution
of convicts but rather the extra judicial executions of human rights
defenders and political activists, witnesses to court trials and
complainants who were pursuing cases of human rights violations
against the security forces. These executions were all done outside
the parameters of the law and when executions are done outside the
parameters of the law it demonstrates the government's incompetence
and inability to protect its own people. This is where Mrs. Arroyo and
her regime failed grossly; a failure for which she has not yet been
held to account. Her regime left hundreds, if not over a thousand of
unresolved cases of extrajudicial and summary executions, enforced
disappearances, torture and systematic threats and the intimidation of
any person working for the protection of rights.
We have thoroughly
documented this in our special report titled: "The Criminal Justice
System of the Philippines is Rotten" published in Article 2 (Vol. 06 -
No. 01 February 2007). Other investigation reports, for example, by
the Melo Commission in January 2007 (Independent Commission to Address
Media and Activist Killings), a body tasked to investigate
extrajudicial killings; and that of Mr. Philip Alston in February
2007, former UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and
arbitrary executions, are also available for your serious perusal.
Four years since the
Melo Commission and Philip Alston's reports were published, most of
their findings and recommendations have not been effectively and
adequately implemented. The implementation of these recommendations
was negligible even during Mrs. Arroyo's term. The insignificant and
minimal success in the prosecution of cases was visibly obvious during
her term. The legacy that she left behind therefore is the unresolved
cases of extrajudicial and summary executions by state agents under
her command.
It is true that it was
during Mrs. Arroyo's term as President that the death penalty was
abolished. However, we must not forget that the campaign to abolish
the death penalty would not have been possible without the tireless
efforts of people who aspired for the abolition of this barbaric act
of punishment. Even before Mrs. Arroyo's presidency the social
movement and the campaign for the abolition of the death Penalty
already existed. These are the families of convicts who were sentenced
to death but whose convictions were questionable. They are the
families of executed convicts who continue to question the legality of
the conviction, and execution of their loved ones; they are the local
NGOs who devoted their efforts to influence the discourse to abolish
the death penalty, they are the members of Congress who lobbied
strongly to enact the law that abolished the death penalty and many
other nameless faces.
The fact is among the
activists killed during Mrs. Arroyo's term as President are those who
had an important role in the movement for the abolition of the death
penalty. Take the case of Rashid "Jun" Manahan, a former coordinator
of a coalition of local NGOs campaigning and lobbying for the
abolition of the death penalty. He was killed in
Davao City in August
2004 on his way to a meeting that was to discuss the abolition of
death penalty.
We urge the ICDP to
review and reconsider Mrs. Arroyo's membership of the Commission due
to the lack of her credibility. The ICDP should also take into
consideration the negative implications of her membership of the
Commission on the ongoing struggle and aspirations of the Filipino
people for the recognition and protection of their rights.
Unless Mrs. Arroyo is
either cleared of the suspicion of allowing human rights abuses to
take place during her presidency or answers the serious allegation of
her complacency towards human rights violations and her failure to
protect the rights of the Filipino people, she has no credibility at
all to advocate for other countries in Asia to abolish capital
punishment.
Yours sincerely,
Wong Kai Shing
Executive Director
Asian Human Rights Commission,
Hong Kong
CC:
- Ambassador Rafael Valle, President of the Support Group of
the International Commission against the Death Penalty
Madrid, SPAIN
- D. Álvaro Lozano Cutanda, Consulate General of
Spain, Makati, Metro
Manila, PHILIPPINES
- Mr. Christof
Heyns, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
executions, OHCHR-UNOG, Geneva, SWITZERLAND
