MANILA: Two United Nations special rapporteurs have expressed their intention to visit the Philippines to conduct an independent probe into the human rights situation in the country.
Delegates of the Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human Rights (EcuVoice) to the 26th UN Human Rights Council sessions said that UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons Dr Chaloka Beyani is slated to conduct his official visit this year.
Meanwhile, UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Gabriela Knaul has recently submitted her request to visit the country, the group said.
EcuVoice delegates also called on the independent experts to look into reports of forced evacuations due to military operations, forced evictions, the continuing displacement of super typhoon Haiyan victims, and the attacks against human rights lawyers in the Philippines.
Representatives of EcuVoice informed Beyani of the forcible evacuations caused by military operations in a growing number of areas in the country, especially in Mindanao, where 60 percent of government troops are now deployed.
Meanwhile, lawyer Edre Olalia, secretary general of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), updated Knaul on the escalating tactics employed to jeopardise, not just the independence of lawyers and judges, but their very lives and personal security, particularly human rights lawyers.
He pointed out the continuing killings of lawyers and judges.
The Philippine star
