UN Committee against Torture to review Philippines

GENEVA (20 April 2016) - The UN Committee against Torture is due to review the Philippines on 27 and 28 April. The Philippines has ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and so is required to be reviewed regularly by the Committee.

Among the possible issues for discussion between CAT members and the Philippines’ delegation are:
·    Extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, including by non-State actors;
·    Persistent use of torture and ill-treatment of suspects in police custody;
·    Impunity, lack of accountability, including in security and law enforcement sectors;
·    Sexual and reproductive health;
·    Overcrowding in prisons and independent monitoring of places of detention;
·    Investigations of arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of human rights defenders by public officials, and of killing of rights defenders by private parties;
·    High number of reported cases of torture and degrading treatment of detained children;
·    Measures to prevent abduction and military recruitment of children by non-State armed groups;
·    Trafficking in persons.

The review will take place at Palais Wilson in Geneva from 10:00 - 13:00 (16:00-19:00 in Manila) on 27 April and 15:00 - 18:00 (21:00 – 24:00) on 28 April and be webcast at http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/.  The Committee will also hear from NGO representatives.

More information, including the Philippines’ submitted written report, at: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1011&Lang=en  The Committee will publish its concluding observations here on Friday 13 May.

A news conference is scheduled for 12:30 on Friday 13 May at Palais des Nations in Geneva when the Committee will discuss its concluding observations on the Philippines and the other countries being reviewed – France, Tunisia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact Liz Throssell +41 (0) 22 917 9466/ +41 79 752 0488 ethrossell@ohchr.org)

Media accreditation:    http://unog.ch/80256EDD006B9C2E/(httpPages)/70991F6887C73B2280256EE700379C58?OpenDocument

Background
Members of the CAT are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. The Committee’s concluding observations are an independent assessment of States’ compliance with their human rights obligations under the treaty. More information:  http://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cat/pages/catindex.aspx

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