Not one human rights violator prosecuted under Aquino, says NY-based watchdog

Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
May 21, 2012

MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino III’s human rights record after nearly two years in office remains wanting as his government failed to successfully prosecute a single suspect in pending cases, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday.

Elaine Pearson, HRW deputy Asia director, said Philippine officials should expect a “grilling” when they make a report at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations Human Rights Council on May 29.

The UPR is a process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN Member States once every four years.

In a report, the rights group said that the Aquino government should do more that train state security forces to respect human rights, saying this “deflect attention from the more serious problem of failing to investigate, arrest and prosecute those responsible for abuses.”

“Members of the military continue to commit abuses because they know they can get away with it,” Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at HRW, said in a news conference, adding that trainings should go hand-in-hand with prosecution of erring officials.

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