State security forces account for 71% of rights, humanitarian law violations

FILE PHOTO: Soldiers of the 36th and 75th IB and Special Forces encamped at the entrance of Alcadev in September 2015 after the Lianga massacre (Contributed Photo)
FILE PHOTO: Soldiers of the 36th and 75th IB and Special Forces encamped at the entrance of Alcadev in September 2015 after the Lianga massacre (Contributed Photo)

Main story: Humanizing the raging war

By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat

A look at the complaints filed before the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) for the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRHIL) from 2004 to 2014 shows that majority of the reported violations were perpetrated by state security forces against civilians.

Of the 4,735 complaints of alleged violations of human rights and international humanitarian law (HR-IHL) filed against the Government of the Philippines (GRP), 67 percent were violations of international humanitarian law. Many of these violations arose from the forcible use of civilian communities in military operations and the treatment of civilians as objects of attack.

Other violations are forcible evacuation of communities, use of civilians as shields/guides in military operations.

Under the Aquino administration, thousands of Lumad evacuated from Surigao del Sur, Compostela Valley and hundreds of Moro from Maguindanao fled from their communities due to military operations.

Violations of social, economic and cultural rights were also filed against the GRP. These include violations of the right to humane working and living conditions, livelihood and job security, the right to form unions, among others.

A case in point was the violent demolition of homes in North Triangle, San Roque, Quezon City in January 2014.

The series of incidents of destruction of food crops in Hacienda Luisita is also classified as violation to the right to livelihood.

Fifty-eight percent of HR-IHL violations filed against the GRP were committed by elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Another five percent of complaints were attributed to suspected military units.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) accounted for 14 percent of the complaints. Other perpetrators identified were paramilitary groups, private security groups, landlords/caretakers, local government units and civilian national agencies.

Complaints against the NDFP

Meanwhile, from 2004 to 2016, a total of 1,927 complaint forms had been submitted against the NDFP.

Majority or 47 percent of the complaints were submitted directly or facilitated by AFP units. Twenty-two percent were filed by the PNP.

Of the complaints, 70 percent were classified by the NDFP-Monitoring Committee as defective or complaints that lack merit either in form or content. Ten percent were duplicates. Eight percent were classified as legitimate military operations.

The NDFP Human Rights Committee identified nine complaints for further investigation or those that merit deeper examination. (https://www.bulatlat.com)

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