VZCZCXRO8222
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHML #2737/01 3520926
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 170926Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2708
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/CDRUSPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 002737 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MTS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM ELAB PGOV RP
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS DATA IMPROVES, BUT CIVIL SOCIETY 
STILL CRITICAL 
 
REF: A. MANILA 2103 (DEMONSTRATING COMMITMENT TO STOP 
        KILLINGS) 
     ¶B. MANILA 1759 (COURT CONVICTS SOLDIER FOR 
        DISAPPEARANCES) 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: At a December 10 celebration of the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights advocates 
and the Philippine government's top human rights watchdog 
delivered mixed analyses on the current human rights 
situation in the Philippines.  Advocates criticized the 
government's inability to prosecute the most grave human 
rights abuses, but acknowledged that the total number of 
abuses -- particularly extrajudicial killings -- had declined 
significantly since peaking in 2006.  Participants praised 
the aggressive investigations of the Commission on Human 
Rights under Chairperson Leila De Lima, who assumed office in 
May.  De Lima said that, despite continued human rights 
violations, sometimes by state actors, she did not believe 
the government had a specific policy of encouraging human 
rights abuses against political activists or journalists. 
The Ambassador's well-received message of support, covered by 
major newspapers, urged all participants to play a role in 
protecting and promoting respect for human rights. 
Government officials and NGOs during the forum, and on talk 
shows later that evening, repeatedly cited the U.S. 
Department of State Human Rights Report as an authoritative 
source of information on the human rights situation in the 
Philippines.  END SUMMARY. 
 
CIVIL SOCIETY SEEKS CONVICTIONS FOR ABUSES 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights, Philippine civil society groups 
and government officers on December 10 offered mixed reviews 
of the human rights situation in the Philippines at a forum 
hosted by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the 
Philippine Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism. 
 Speakers and audience members from NGOs said that the weak 
response by law enforcement officials and the lack of 
convictions for human rights abuses encouraged impunity for 
state actors who may be involved in human rights violations, 
especially extrajudicial killings (EJKs).  The head of the 
largest and most vocal anti-government human rights group, 
Karapatan, lamented that the government appeared to be 
resorting to arrests and illegal detentions to silence 
activists and had yet to obtain more than a handful of 
convictions for EJKs.  Speakers at the forum condemned the 
displacement of Mindanao's Muslim population and alleged 
abuses committed against them, a consequence, they said, of 
the military's ongoing pursuit of Muslim rebel forces in the 
region. 
 
BAR ASSOCIATION DOCUMENTS DECLINE IN KILLINGS 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) At a separate event on December 12, an audit report 
funded by the Asia Foundation for the Integrated Bar of the 
Philippines, the national bar association, found that 121 of 
405 human rights cases documented at the CHR and at 
Integrated Bar chapters for the period January 2001 to August 
2008 qualified as EJKs.  For purposes of the audit, the 
Integrated Bar defined an EJK as a killing that occurred 
because of the political affiliation of the victim or with 
the involvement or acquiescence of state agents.  According 
to the Integrated Bar, there were 26 killings in 2005, 48 in 
2006, 11 in 2007, and 3 through August 2008.  The report's 
authors made recommendations for preventing and prosecuting 
human rights abuses, including granting quasi-judicial 
authority to the CHR, which the CHR is already seeking 
through a bill in Congress that would grant it some 
prosecutorial powers.  The head of Karapatan, present at both 
the forum and the Integrated bar events, agreed that the 
number of EJKs had in fact declined since peaking in 2006. 
 
AMBASSADOR SHOWS U.S. SUPPORT FOR RIGHTS ADVOCATES 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Ambassador delivered an uplifting message of 
support to those gathered, commending NGOs, labor leaders, 
journalists, and religious groups for the roles they play in 
protecting and promoting human rights.  Security forces also 
have important roles to play, the Ambassador said, in 
investigating abuses and holding violators accountable. 
While she noted the ideals set forth in the Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights might be difficult to achieve, 
the Ambassador emphasized that it is nonetheless imperative 
for all society to work toward them.  Responding to press 
 
MANILA 00002737  002 OF 002 
 
 
questions after her remarks, the Ambassador urged the 
government to do more to hold perpetrators of human rights 
abuses accountable for their actions. 
 
CHR: NO SPECIFIC GOVERNMENT POLICY TO ENCOURAGE ABUSES 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) While NGOs criticized the government's overall 
response to human rights abuses, participants heaped praise 
on CHR Chairperson Leila De Lima for her aggressive approach 
to investigating alleged abuses by state actors.  De Lima 
expressed dismay at the number of killings and disappearances 
that continue to happen, many of which the CHR ascertained 
were committed by members of the security forces.  However, 
De Lima said that she did not believe the government had a 
specific policy of encouraging human rights abuses against 
political activists or journalists, echoing the position of 
UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston, who, in his April 2008 
report, ascribed the government's tolerance of human rights 
abuses to complex institutional problems, skewed priorities 
in the justice system, and the military's broad 
counterinsurgency strategy.  Based on the Commission's 
analysis, she said, such abuses were often committed by lone 
actors, without explicit state support. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Other areas of investigation at the CHR included the 
killings of street children in Davao, forced evictions of 
informal urban settlers by the Metropolitan Manila 
Development Authority, internal displacement of civilians in 
western Mindanao, and violations of children's rights. 
Regarding the October arrests of well-known political 
activists, De Lima said the CHR would conduct hearings for 
public prosecutors to explain the basis for the arrests.  The 
Department of Justice was being helpful as the CHR looked at 
these cases, but De Lima admitted these investigations were 
difficult because they involved the government's "internal 
checks and balances" on matters of law enforcement. 
 
THE HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT, AN AUTHORITATIVE SOURCE 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶7. (SBU) NGO speakers at the forum cited the State 
Department's Human Rights Report on the Philippines in their 
remarks, reflecting the document's importance as an 
authoritative reference tool for human rights advocates.  In 
a television interview later that evening, De Lima and her 
ABS-CBN interviewer referred to the Report's section on EJKs, 
noting the distinctions between abuses committed by state 
actors and "security forces," one of the terms used in the 
Report to incorporate the concept of paramilitary 
organizations not under the direct control of government 
forces. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Absent further progress in the prosecution of human 
rights abuses, Philippine civil society groups are not likely 
to temper their criticism of the government, even though EJKs 
and enforced disappearances are on the decline compared to 
previous years.  Most groups do not view incremental, 
year-to-year improvements in the human rights situation as 
serious progress; instead, they focus on the number of total 
killings since President Arroyo assumed office in 2001, 
though such killings have been prevalent for most of the 
Philippines' modern history.  Working within a constrained 
budget and a broad mandate under appointment by President 
Arroyo -- who is viewed by a large part of the human rights 
community as anathema to their values -- the CHR's 
chairperson and commissioners could find it increasingly 
difficult to mediate between militant civil society groups, 
who resent being targeted for alleged ties to rebel Communist 
forces, and certain government institutions, like the Armed 
Forces of the Philippines, which, according to the CHR, only 
reluctantly cooperate with human rights investigations. 
Forums like the one attended by the Ambassador will be 
important for elevating the CHR's perceived status within the 
government and making civil society groups feel like they are 
part of the solution to human rights abuses, and not just 
part of the problem. 
 
KENNEY