BETA


2007/2553(RSP) Resolution on the human rights situation in the Philippines

Progress: Procedure completed

Legal Basis:
RoP 135

Events

2007/05/31
   EC - Commission response to text adopted in plenary
Documents
2007/04/26
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2007/04/26
   EP - Debate in Parliament
2007/04/26
   EP - Decision by Parliament
Details

The European Parliament adopted a joint resolution on the human rights situation in the Philippines, where, in recent years the number of politically motivated killings in the Philippines has dramatically risen and the human rights situation in the country gives reason for serious concern. The resolution, adopted by 68 votes to 0 with 0 abstentions, pointed out that the local human rights organisation Karapatan has recorded 180 forced disappearances and over 800 killings, most of them by unidentified gunmen, since 2001. Most of those killed, such as opposition party members, church people, community leaders, peasants, journalists, lawyers, human rights activists, trade unionists or simply witnesses of extra-judicial killings, have been accused by government representatives of being members of front organisations for illegal armed groups and 'terrorists'. Both the findings of the Melo Commission, appointed by President Arroyo and the results of the investigations by the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions indicate the involvement of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in those political killings. In a positive development, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has appointed a high-level independent commission to examine the problem and a national-level police task force to investigate the killings. The commission's findings indicate army involvement in the political killings. In response to its recommendations, President Arroyo has issued a 6-point plan to stop the killings. However, MEPs believe all this is far from enough.

Parliament expressed its grave concern at the increasing number of political killings and urged the Philippine authorities to make the necessary investigations in a timely, thorough and transparent manner and to bring those responsible to justice. It condemned in the strongest terms the murder of Mrs Siche Bustamante-Gandinao, a dedicated human rights activist who was killed just days after testifying to the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. The Human Security Act 2007, which will enter into force in July 2007, is liable to further increase the incidence of human rights violations by the Security Forces because it will allow arrest without warrant and arbitrary detention for up to three days. Parliament called upon the Government of the Philippines to introduce concrete protection measures to avoid human rights abuses that could result from the application of this law.

It denounced attacks on legal opposition groups, and called on the authorities to put an end to allegations of collusion between peaceful opposition groups and illegal armed groups. The Philippine Government must adopt measures to end the systematic intimidation and harassment of witnesses in connection with prosecutions for killings and ensure truly effective witness protection. Parliament called particularly on the Philippine Ombudsman to take seriously his constitutional role in responding to extrajudicial killings attributed to public officials.

Whilst the 6-point plan of the Government to end the political killings was viewed positively, Parliament stressed that the Government of the Philippines must show real commitment to investigating those killings and a readiness to bring those responsible for them, including representatives of the security forces, to justice. So far most police investigations have tended to be flawed. The climate of impunity has a corrosive impact on public confidence in the rule of law. Parliament was concerned that the killings are creating a climate in which people in the Philippines do not feel free to exercise their rights of political expression and association.

Lastly, Parliament called on the Government of the Philippines to guarantee the security of those applying for the redistribution of land under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programme (CARP) and to expedite the implementation of the land reform programme in order to curb one of the root causes of political violence.

Documents
2007/04/26
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2007/04/24
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2007/04/24
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2007/04/24
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2007/04/24
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2007/04/24
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2007/04/24
   EP - Motion for a resolution
Documents
2007/04/24
   Joint motion for resolution
Documents

Documents

Votes

RC B6-0160/2007 - Situation des droits de l'homme aux Philippines - par. 1/2 #

2007/04/26 Outcome: -: 41, +: 29
LT ES AT CY NL BG SE EL FR IE EE HU LV GB DE IT CZ SK PL
Total
3
3
2
1
1
1
1
3
9
1
1
1
1
12
8
2
2
4
14
icon: PSE PSE
17

Lithuania PSE

2

Austria PSE

2

Bulgaria PSE

1

United Kingdom PSE

3

Germany PSE

2
icon: ALDE ALDE
5

Lithuania ALDE

1

Cyprus ALDE

For (1)

1

United Kingdom ALDE

2

Poland ALDE

1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
3

Netherlands GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Greece GUE/NGL

1

Germany GUE/NGL

For (1)

1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
3

Spain Verts/ALE

1

Sweden Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

France Verts/ALE

For (1)

1
icon: IND/DEM IND/DEM
2

Poland IND/DEM

For (1)

Against (1)

2
icon: UEN UEN
5

Latvia UEN

Against (1)

1
icon: PPE-DE PPE-DE
35

Greece PPE-DE

2

Ireland PPE-DE

Against (1)

1

Estonia PPE-DE

Against (1)

1

Hungary PPE-DE

Against (1)

1

Italy PPE-DE

2

Czechia PPE-DE

2

RC B6-0160/2007 - Situation des droits de l'homme aux Philippines - résolution #

2007/04/26 Outcome: +: 68
PL GB FR DE LT SK IT CZ EL ES AT CY NL IE EE HU BG LV SE
Total
14
11
9
8
4
4
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
icon: PPE-DE PPE-DE
36

Lithuania PPE-DE

1

Italy PPE-DE

2

Czechia PPE-DE

2

Ireland PPE-DE

For (1)

1

Estonia PPE-DE

For (1)

1

Hungary PPE-DE

1
icon: PSE PSE
15

United Kingdom PSE

2

Germany PSE

2

Lithuania PSE

2

Spain PSE

1

Austria PSE

2

Bulgaria PSE

1
icon: ALDE ALDE
5

Poland ALDE

1

United Kingdom ALDE

2

Lithuania ALDE

1

Cyprus ALDE

For (1)

1
icon: UEN UEN
5

Latvia UEN

For (1)

1
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
3

France Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Spain Verts/ALE

1

Sweden Verts/ALE

For (1)

1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
2

Germany GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Netherlands GUE/NGL

For (1)

1
icon: IND/DEM IND/DEM
2

Poland IND/DEM

2

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

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type
Decision by Parliament
body
EP
docs
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summary
events/2
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type
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body
EP
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activities
  • date: 2007-04-26T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=13564&l=en type: Results of vote in Parliament title: Results of vote in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20070426&type=CRE type: Debate in Parliament title: Debate in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2007-171 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T6-0171/2007 body: EP type: Results of vote in Parliament
committees
    docs
    • date: 2007-04-24T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B6-2007-160&language=EN title: B6-0160/2007 type: Motion for a resolution body: EP
    • date: 2007-04-24T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B6-2007-173&language=EN title: B6-0173/2007 type: Motion for a resolution body: EP
    • date: 2007-04-24T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B6-2007-176&language=EN title: B6-0176/2007 type: Motion for a resolution body: EP
    • date: 2007-04-24T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B6-2007-181&language=EN title: B6-0181/2007 type: Motion for a resolution body: EP
    • date: 2007-04-24T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B6-2007-183&language=EN title: B6-0183/2007 type: Motion for a resolution body: EP
    • date: 2007-04-24T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B6-2007-185&language=EN title: B6-0185/2007 type: Motion for a resolution body: EP
    • date: 2007-04-24T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=P6-RC-2007-160&language=EN title: RC-B6-0160/2007 type: Joint motion for resolution
    • date: 2007-05-31T00:00:00 docs: url: /oeil/spdoc.do?i=13564&j=0&l=en title: SP(2007)2625/2 type: Commission response to text adopted in plenary
    events
    • date: 2007-04-26T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=13564&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
    • date: 2007-04-26T00:00:00 type: Debate in Parliament body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20070426&type=CRE title: Debate in Parliament
    • date: 2007-04-26T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2007-171 title: T6-0171/2007 summary: The European Parliament adopted a joint resolution on the human rights situation in the Philippines, where, in recent years the number of politically motivated killings in the Philippines has dramatically risen and the human rights situation in the country gives reason for serious concern. The resolution, adopted by 68 votes to 0 with 0 abstentions, pointed out that the local human rights organisation Karapatan has recorded 180 forced disappearances and over 800 killings, most of them by unidentified gunmen, since 2001. Most of those killed, such as opposition party members, church people, community leaders, peasants, journalists, lawyers, human rights activists, trade unionists or simply witnesses of extra-judicial killings, have been accused by government representatives of being members of front organisations for illegal armed groups and 'terrorists'. Both the findings of the Melo Commission, appointed by President Arroyo and the results of the investigations by the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions indicate the involvement of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in those political killings. In a positive development, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has appointed a high-level independent commission to examine the problem and a national-level police task force to investigate the killings. The commission's findings indicate army involvement in the political killings. In response to its recommendations, President Arroyo has issued a 6-point plan to stop the killings. However, MEPs believe all this is far from enough. Parliament expressed its grave concern at the increasing number of political killings and urged the Philippine authorities to make the necessary investigations in a timely, thorough and transparent manner and to bring those responsible to justice. It condemned in the strongest terms the murder of Mrs Siche Bustamante-Gandinao, a dedicated human rights activist who was killed just days after testifying to the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. The Human Security Act 2007, which will enter into force in July 2007, is liable to further increase the incidence of human rights violations by the Security Forces because it will allow arrest without warrant and arbitrary detention for up to three days. Parliament called upon the Government of the Philippines to introduce concrete protection measures to avoid human rights abuses that could result from the application of this law. It denounced attacks on legal opposition groups, and called on the authorities to put an end to allegations of collusion between peaceful opposition groups and illegal armed groups. The Philippine Government must adopt measures to end the systematic intimidation and harassment of witnesses in connection with prosecutions for killings and ensure truly effective witness protection. Parliament called particularly on the Philippine Ombudsman to take seriously his constitutional role in responding to extrajudicial killings attributed to public officials. Whilst the 6-point plan of the Government to end the political killings was viewed positively, Parliament stressed that the Government of the Philippines must show real commitment to investigating those killings and a readiness to bring those responsible for them, including representatives of the security forces, to justice. So far most police investigations have tended to be flawed. The climate of impunity has a corrosive impact on public confidence in the rule of law. Parliament was concerned that the killings are creating a climate in which people in the Philippines do not feel free to exercise their rights of political expression and association. Lastly, Parliament called on the Government of the Philippines to guarantee the security of those applying for the redistribution of land under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programme (CARP) and to expedite the implementation of the land reform programme in order to curb one of the root causes of political violence.
    • date: 2007-04-26T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
    links
    other
      procedure/legal_basis/0
      Rules of Procedure EP 135
      procedure/legal_basis/0
      Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 135
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      Old
      • 6.10.09 Human rights situation in the world
      • 6.40.08 Relations with Asian countries
      New
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      procedure/subject/1
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      activities
      • date: 2007-04-26T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=13564&l=en type: Results of vote in Parliament title: Results of vote in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?secondRef=TOC&language=EN&reference=20070426&type=CRE type: Debate in Parliament title: Debate in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P6-TA-2007-171 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T6-0171/2007 body: EP type: Results of vote in Parliament
      committees
        links
        other
          procedure
          reference
          2007/2553(RSP)
          title
          Resolution on the human rights situation in the Philippines
          legal_basis
          Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 135
          stage_reached
          Procedure completed
          subtype
          Urgent debate or resolution
          type
          RSP - Resolutions on topical subjects
          subject