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PRESS STATEMENT Reference: Rev. Fr. Rex Reyes
Geneva, 12 June 2008 Secretary General, National Council of
Churches in the Philippines (NCCP)
Head of UPR Watch Delegation
Mobile Nos. +63918 944 7538; +4177 251 0560
Philippine Human Rights Group Stands by Concerns for Violations of
Rights of Filipinos in the Netherlands
On this supposed “independence day” of the Philippines, the Philippine
Human Rights Watch delegation in attendance at the UN Human Rights Council
8th Session confirms its support to the joint statement delivered by the
International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) during the
“interactive dialogue” yesterday on the consideration of the report of the
Working Group on the Netherlands Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
The IADL is an NGO with consultative status to ECOSOC, UNICEF, and the UN
Human Rights Council with lawyer and jurist members and associations in
over 80 countries. The statement, which was read on the floor by Atty.
Edre U. Olalia, Deputy Secretary General for International Solidarity Work
of the IADL-affiliate National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), was also
endorsed by another ECOSOC-accredited NGO, the Indian Council of South
America as well as by the Indigenous Peoples and Nations Coalition.
Several other international NGOs based in Geneva and abroad discreetly
extended their support and endorsement in principle to the statement.
Atty. Olalia, who is the legal consultant of the Philippine UPR Watch and
who also serves as President of the human rights lawyers organization
International Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL), was the first
speaker from an NGO and firmly raised the issues and concerns of the IADL
in relation to the violation of the human rights of Filipino exiles,
asylum-seekers and refugees like Prof. Jose Ma. Sison and the other
consultants, members and staffers of the National Democratic Front of the
Philippines (NDFP) which is considered a national liberation movement
under international law.
The Philippine UPR Watch delegation stood by Atty. Olalia’s ringing
intervention as the whole Council was listening. The Watch upholds the
basic democratic rights of Filipinos whether in the Philippines or
elsewhere. The group also shared the concerns of the IADL in relation to
the effect of the political persecution and legal harassment of Sison, the
raids on the NDFP offices and residences of its consultants, members and
staffers and the confiscation of still unreturned materials related of the
Joint Monitoring Committee of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights
and International Humanitarian law (CARHRIHL), and the effect of all these
on the status of the peace negotiations with the Philippine government.
The head of the Netherlands delegation, Dutch Ambassador for Human Rights
from the Foreign Ministry Mr. Arjan Hamburger – who was obviously caught
by surprise by a Filipino making an oral intervention on the Netherlands
human rights report and situation – was unprepared to answer and meekly
replied that they will respond to the issues raised by the NGOs in an
interim overview of their UPR report or "through bilateral contact with
the organizations that spoke." This was confirmed by Mr. Hamburger and Mr.
Walter Oostelbos, UPR Coordinator for the Netherlands and former
ambassador to the Philippines, when Olalia approached the Dutch delegation
immediately afterwards.
At the time the oral intervention was delivered, the table of the
Philippine Mission was empty and remained empty until the Philippine UPR
Watch delegation stepped out. It was not able to hear Olalia’s critical
questions that were equally directed at the Philippine government’s rep
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