Press Release
August 10, 2007

CREATION OF ASEAN HUMAN RIGHTS BODY
Villar bats for promotion of human rights at bureaucracy level

Senate President Manny Villar today welcomed the creation of a human rights body within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as he advocated for a comprehensive human rights program among government employees.

"The commitment of our government to assume an active participation in the ASEAN human rights body is laudable. To complement this move, we should now act to promote human rights advocacies at the bureaucracy level through a comprehensive education program among government officials and workers, especially those working in the law enforcement agencies," Villar said.

He added that the education program should include discussions on the Human Security Act of 2007 in order to erase misinterpretations of the law, and measures that will put a stop to the fiercely-criticized political and extra-judicial killings in the country.

"If our government is serious in its public pronouncements of finally ending extra-judicial killings in the country, it is imperative to show that our domestic policies adhere to international agreements on human rights," Villar said.

Villar, who is also president of the Nacionalista Party, added that the creation of a body that will promote human rights in the Southeast Asian region is an indication that the ASEAN is serious in the promotion of human rights in the region.

The Senate president also echoed the appeal of Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chair Purificacion Quisumbing for the civil society organizations to dialogue with the CHR, and for the creation of a network of government and civil society groups to actively monitor the effective implementation of human rights treaties ratified by the Philippines .

Earlier, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said that the creation of a human rights body under the draft ASEAN Charter was agreed upon during the 40th Ministerial Meeting in Manila.

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