Human rights of Pinoys abroad still get violated - group

MANILA, Philippines - Despite the Philippine government's insistence it successfully defended its human rights record at the United Nations, a militant rights group stood by its concerns for violations of rights of Filipinos abroad.

The Philippine Human Rights Watch (HRW) delegation attending UN Human Rights Council 8th Session affirmed the joint statement of concern by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) during an "interactive dialogue" Thursday.

According to HRW, the dialogue was held regarding the report of the Working Group on the Netherlands Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

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.

Reading the statement on the floor was lawyer Edre Olalia, deputy secretary general for international solidarity work of the IADL-affiliate National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL).

Endorsing it was 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," the HRW delegation said.

Olalia, lawyer of the Philippine UPR Watch and president of the IAPL, 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 Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Ma. Sison and the consultants, members and staffers of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), which he said 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 statement read.

It also said the head of the Netherlands delegation, Dutch Ambassador for Human Rights from the Foreign Ministry Mr. Arjan Hamburger, "was obviously caught by surprise by a Filipino making an oral intervention on the Netherlands human rights report and situation (and) 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.'"

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 thus not able to hear Olalia's critical questions that were equally directed at the Philippine government's repressive actions. - GMANews.TV

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