CHR should be adequately funded: EU

September 14, 2017

The European Union on Thursday said human rights commissions play a vital role in any country and need to be adequately funded.

The EU said it is aware of the vote by the House of Representatives of the Philippines to allocate to the Commission on Human Rights - a body mandated under the Constitution to investigate human rights violations - a budget of only P1,000.

"Human Rights Commissions play an important role in any country and need to be sufficiently resourced to play that role," the EU said in an emailed statement from its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

The initial decision of the House of Representatives to give the CHR an impossibly small budget came under widespread criticism at home and abroad, with United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Executions Agnes Callamard calling it "reprehensible and unconscionable."

Phelim Kline, deputy Asia director of New York-based Human Rights Watch,  said its move would deal a blow against accountability for human rights violations in the Philippines.

The CHR budget is not yet final as it will have to be passed by the Senate, and approved in a bicameral session.

President Rodrigo Duterte criticized the EU and other western governments for raising alarm and calling for investigations into thousands of killings under his presidency.

The EU maintained its stance.

“The European Union reiterates the importance of carrying out the fight against illegal drugs in the Philippines in full compliance with due process, national law and international human rights law,” the EU statement said.

“The high number of killings, including of minors, constitutes an extremely serious situation. All cases of death must be promptly and effectively investigated in an impartial and transparent manner, which ensures appropriate prosecution of those responsible,” the EU said. DMS