MANILA, Philippines- Umapela si Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman kay Pangulong Bongbong Marcos na bumuo ng Special Committee on Human Rights upang makatulong sa agarang pagratipika sa United Nations (UN) treaty on enforced disappearances and Human Rights Defenders (HRD) Protection Act.
“While the Philippines is a state party to eight human rights conventions, it has yet to join 71 States which have ratified the Convention,” pahayag ni Lagman.
“The HRD bill defends human rights defenders from harassment, prosecution, and even death at the hands of State agents and their private cohorts. It is largely based on the Model Law for the Recognition and Protection of Human Rights Defenders developed by the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR),” giit nito.
Una nang sinabi ng Presidential Communications Office na ang special committee ay kabibilangan ng executive secretary, kalihim ng Department of Justice, Department of Foreign Affairs at Department of Interior and Local Government.
Sinabi ni Lagman na dapat kabilang din sa nasabing komite ang civil society na siyang may malaking karanasan sa human rights advocacy.
Una nang sinabi ng UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) na ang “enforced disappearance” ay ang pag-aresto, pagdetine at pagdukot sa isang indibidwal ng grupo na may basbas ng estado at hindi pagsasabi kung saan ito dinala.
Bukod dito ay hinimok din ni Lagman si Pangulong Marcos na mahigpit na ipatupad ang Anti-Torture Act, ang Criminalization of Enforced and Involuntary Disappearance Act at ang Reparation and Recognition of Human Rights Violations Victims Act. Gail Mendoza
