Philippines: A follow-up report on the implementation in the Philippines of the Concluding Observations and recommendations of the United Nations Committee Against Torture and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Introduction
1.1 A
holistic approach
Poverty,
inequality and discrimination are often at the root of violence; most victims
of torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment being the poorest or most
marginalised members of the community. OMCT works to reduce and eliminate torture and cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment, arbitrary executions, disappearances, violence against
women and children and other forms of violence by identifying and attacking the
violations of economic, social and cultural rights that are the root causes of
that violence. Experience has shown that
acting on only one of the causes of torture has little chance of success. It is therefore essential to adopt a
multifaceted and integrated approach that ensures the implementation of
economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil and political
rights. By adopting this holistic approach, OMCT’s work in
this field has shown that addressing
the root causes of violence through the appropriate channels can reduce human
rights abuses as well as help create conditions conducive to economic growth
and poverty reduction.
OMCT works with national
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to strengthen their capacity to address
the economic, social and cultural root causes of torture and other forms of
violence directly with their own national authorities as well as
internationally. There are two key ways
in which OMCT and its partner organisations seek to bring about change: through
alternative reports to the United Nations (UN) Treaty Bodies and through urgent
interventions, most notably action files that provide a detailed analysis of a specific
situation where violations of economic, social or cultural rights are causing
or risk causing violence and that propose specific remedial action. These action files are addressed to the UN, governments,
development and financial institutions, the private sector and the institutions
of the European Union (EU). It is
considered key to involve international institutions, such as the EU and financial
and development bodies, in this process given the role that such institutions
can play in influencing policies and projects at the national level.
A key element of the holistic
approach adopted by OMCT is that actions
and remedies requested in alternative reports and action files should be
mutually reinforcing. OMCT has thus
taken the approach of submitting alternative reports to both the UN Committee
against Torture (CAT) and the UN Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (CESCR), which cover cross-cutting issues relevant to both Committees
and which suggest mutually reinforcing recommendations. At the national level, follow-up missions
seek to bridge the implementation gap between the recommendations of the
Committees. Such missions necessarily
follow up on how (or if) recommendations are being implemented, but other key
objectives are to draw attention of the national authorities to the
recommendations, encouraging them to implement them in a coordinated way, to
strengthen the capacity of other key stakeholders, such as civil society and
national human rights institutions, to take action, and to involve, and
mobilise, international institutions in the analysis of the root causes of
violence.