By RONALYN OLEA
UN Special Rapporteur Prof. Philip Alston visited the country in February 2007 to look into the spate of extrajudicial killings. He cited the counter-insurgency program of the government and the failure to prosecute perpetrators as the main reasons behind the killings.
In his follow-up report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Prof. Philip Alston, the UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said the Philippine government has not eliminated extrajudicial killings from its counterinsurgency operations.
An independent international mission comprised of lawyers and judges said that while the Philippine government claims to have taken firm measures to address the problem of extrajudicial killings, including the establishment of various Task Forces, there have been no visible results.
Frustrated with the lack of government measures to address the problem of killings and other rights abuses, lawyers’ groups resolved to seek the help of the United Nations to curb the continuing attacks against Filipino lawyers and judges. BY RONALYN V. OLEA HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Bulatlat Frustrated with the lack of government measures to address…