In its statements before the UN Human Rights Council, the Philippine government is hyping its supposed reform process on human rights as the UN Joint Program for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Philippines (UNJP) draws to a close. It claims to have “a renewed sense responsibility and commitment to human rights in the whole bureaucracy” while promoting the creation of a human rights coordinating council (HRCC) “to take over and broaden the programs under the UNJP.”

The reality of ongoing human rights violations, particularly in the context of the drug war and counter-insurgency efforts, paints a different picture. Under the current administration of President Marcos Jr., there have been numerous documented cases of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, as well as violations of international humanitarian law such as bombings and forcible evacuations of civilian populations caused by military operations. The implementation of counter-terrorism laws has led to arbitrary arrests and trumped-up charges against political dissenters, resulting in a high number of political prisoners. Economic issues such as high prices, low wages, unemployment, and landlessness further exacerbate the plight of the poor majority.

While touted as a mechanism to facilitate increased participation from various stakeholders, the HRCC appears to be nothing more than a smoke and mirrors tactic to evade accountability and perpetuate a self-serving agenda.

The HRCC effectively replicates the functions of the UNJP but without the oversight of the UN and with a more dominant government presence and token civil society involvement. This new mechanism is expected to yield even fewer results than the UNJP, which suffered from inadequate baseline indicators and lack of tangible outcomes in investigating and prosecuting perpetrators of human rights violations. The HRCC will likely be used to deflect attention from meaningful policy reforms while distracting from human rights abuses on the ground.

It is evident that the HRCC is designed to deodorize the government’s human rights record and cannot be expected to meet the people’s long-awaited demand for complete accountability and the end to human rights abuses.#