R.A.
No. 9851 – breakthrough law for IHL enforcement in the Philippines
By Atty. Soliman M. Santos, Jr.
PHILIPPINE HOUSE BILL NO. 7199, AMENDING THE ANTI-TORTURE ACT'S DEFINITION OF TORTURE (Download here in pdf format)
The Anti-Torture Law: a good advance but misses out on non-state
torture
by Robert
Francis B. Garcia and Soliman M. Santos, Jr.
Addressing Human Rights Violations by Non-State Actors
by
Leila M. De Lima
Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines
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R.A.
No. 9851 – breakthrough law for IHL enforcement in the Philippines By Atty. Soliman M. Santos, Jr.
Co-Founder/Convenor, Civil Society Initiatives
for International Humanitarian Law (CSI-IHL)
Quezon City, Philippines, 8 January 2010
Republic Act No. 9851, the new “Philippine Act on Crimes Against
International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against
Humanity” signed into law on 11 December 2009, is a breakthrough law
for the enforcement of international humanitarian law (IHL) as well as
human rights in the Philippines. For the first time here, a national
statute defines and penalizes “the most serious crimes of concern to
the international community as a whole” – namely, war crimes, genocide,
and crimes against humanity. This could be even more significant than
R.A. No. 9745, the “Anti-Torture Act of 2009” signed into law about a
month earlier on 10 November 2009. To the credit of the 14th Congress
and of the Arroyo administration, they have delivered this significant
one-two punch for human rights and IHL, and possibly a few more good
punch combinations, during the “last round” of this Congress and
administration before bowing out in mid-2010. But credit is also due
to the various human rights and IHL advocates in civil society and in
government who have worked long and hard for these and related
legislation as well as administrative measures.
This new law
will enable the Philippines to prosecute the international crimes
itself, contribute to an effective international criminal justice
regime, strengthen its national criminal justice system, and generally
bring its national law into conformity with international standards as
well as up-to-date with important developments in international law.
It can no longer be said that the Philippines is “unable” to prosecute
war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity for the simple reason
that there is no Philippine law defining and penalizing these serious
international crimes as such. Such inability could even justify the
“complementary” (i.e. secondary) jurisdiction of the International
Criminal Court (ICC) over such crimes. It has been said that “Criminal
legislation is the most appropriate and effective means of dealing with
all serious violations of IHL.” But, as we shall explain further
below, R.A. No. 9851 is a special law, not an amendment to the Revised
Penal Code, because this law is not simply criminal law but also
international criminal law, international humanitarian law and
international human rights law. In practical terms, something like
the “Maguindanao Massacre” can now be prosecuted as a crime against
humanity rather than as a common crime of multiple murder.
Read more
SOME NOTES ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS/ABUSES BY
NON-STATE ACTORS AND POSSIBLE COURSES OF ACTION
By Atty. Soliman M. Santos Jr.
Regional
Focal Point for Asia, South-South Network (SSN) for
Non-State Armed Group Engagement; Co-Convenor, Committee on Non-State Armed Group Accountability (CALASAG)
Quezon City, Philippines,
15 May 2009
A. Human Rights Violations/Abuses by Non-State Actors
Non-State Actors (NSAs)
-- a very broad category of those other
than sovereign independent nation-states (basically those recognized by the UN)
and their agents. Includes
non-governmental organizations, business/multinational/transnational
corporations, international organizations, some sub-national ethnic entities,
private individuals, landlords, and non-state armed groups.
Non-State Armed Groups (NSAGs) – groups that are armed, use
force to achieve their political or quasi-political objectives, and are opposed
to or autonomous from the state. Refer
mainly to rebel or insurgent groups, for example the following:
- New People’s Army (NPA, though the CPP-NPA-NDFP
contests the application of the term “NSA” or qualification “non-state” to it,
because of its own “two state” notion of the present Philippine polity – and
this has its own implications)
- Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao
Brigade (RPA-ABB)
- Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF, by contrast
wants the term
Not Only the State:
Torture and Enforced Disappearance by Non-State Armed Groups
Position Statement on the Proposed Laws Against Torture and Enforced
Disappearance
“non-state actor” applied to it) - nAbu Sayyaf Group (ASG)
SOME NOTES ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Not Only the State:
Torture and Enforced Disappearance by Non-State Armed Groups
Position Statement on the Proposed Laws Against Torture and Enforced
Disappearance
VIOLATIONS/ABUSES BY
NON-STATE ACTORS AND POSSIBLE COURSES OF ACTION
By Atty. Soliman M. Santos Jr.
Regional
Focal Point for Asia, South-South Network (SSN) for
Non-State Armed Group Engagement; Co-Convenor, Committee on Non-State Armed Group Accountability (CALASAG)
Quezon City, Philippines,
15 May 2009
A. Human Rights Violations/Abuses by Non-State Actors
Non-State Actors (NSAs)
-- a very broad category of those other
than sovereign independent nation-states (basically those recognized by the UN)
and their agents. Includes
non-governmental organizations, business/multinational/transnational
corporations, international organizations, some sub-national ethnic entities,
private individuals, landlords, and non-state armed groups.
Non-State Armed Groups (NSAGs) – groups that are armed, use
force to achieve their political or quasi-political objectives, and are opposed
to or autonomous from the state. Refer
mainly to rebel or insurgent groups, for example the following:
n
New People’s Army (NPA, though the CPP-NPA-NDFP
contests the application of the term “NSA” or qualification “non-state” to it,
because of its own “two state” notion of the present Philippine polity – and
this has its own implications)
n
Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao
Brigade (RPA-ABB)
n
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF, by contrast
wants the term “non-state actor” applied to it)
n
Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)
Human Rights Violations (HRVs) by
the State – is the established traditional notion based on the origin
or rationale for the emergence of the international HR regime as for the
protection of the individual from possible abuses by the powerful State which
is supposed to have a monopoly of legitimate armed forces.
HRVs by NSA(G)s – is the emerging notion that not only States
but also NSA(G)s have certain HR obligations and consequently may also commit
HRVs. For example, capitalists in
relation to workers rights, and landlords in relation to peasant rights.
Human Rights Violations (HRVs) by
the State – is the established traditional notion based on the origin
or rationale for the emergence of the international HR regime as for the
protection of the individual from possible abuses by the powerful State which
is supposed to have a monopoly of legitimate armed forces.
HRVs by NSA(G)s – is the emerging notion that not only States
but also NSA(G)s have certain HR obligations and consequently may also commit
HRVs. For example, capitalists in
relation to workers rights, and landlords in relation to peasant rights.
Read more
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