Baguilat invites UN exec to check killing of IP folks

By Aiza Namingit 

LAGAWE, Ifugao -- In a bid to shed more light on alleged violations of the human rights of indigenous peoples in the Philippines,Ifugao Rep. Teddy Brawner Baguilat has filed House Resolution 152 inviting to the country the UN Commission on Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

In the recent resolution filed at the House of Representatives, Baguilat said that the Philippines has been witness to “a seemingly uncontrollable spate of killings of leaders and members of indigenous communities, including children.”

Baguilat, who chaired the House committee on National Cultural Communities in the 15th Congress, said that the committee had received “numerous reports of exclusion, discrimination and other cases of human rights violations against indigenous peoples” and that the committee had conducted investigations to determine the veracity of the reports and determine the cause of the violations.

Baguilat acknowledged, however, that government agencies such as the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the Commission on Human Rights, had taken steps to address issues of human rights violations against indigenous peoples.

But at the same time, Baguilat said that there remained a need to involve “a qualified and objective third party to assess the human rights situation of Philippine indigenous communities in order to devise and implement a stronger government response to human rights violations against indigenous peoples.

Baguilat said the UN Special Rapporteur was the ideal third party to conduct the review considering that the rights of indigenous peoples are promoted and protected under various international instruments, such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The UN Commission on Human Rights appointed a Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples to “promote good practices, including new laws and agreements between indigenous peoples and governments to implement international standards on the rights of indigenous peoples.”

Baguilat has thus urged the House of Representatives in the resolution to invite Prof. James Anaya, Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, “to observe, review and comment on the human rights situation of indigenous communities in the Philippines, with a view to formulating legislation consistent with international standards, in order to further protect and promote the human rights of indigenous peoples in the Philippines.”