Publication of an International Fact-finding Mission Report - Embargo : 11 April 2008, 0h01GMT

Paris-Manila-Geneva-Copenhagen, 11 April 2008: On the eve of the examination of the human rights record of the Philippines under the newly established mechanism of Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in cooperation with its national member, the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), and with the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), make public a report entitled Terrorism and Human Rights in the Philippines: Fighting Terror or Terrorizing?

Joint Report by NGOs with U.N. Consultative Status and endorsed by various (29) Philippine Civil Society Organizations

Submission for the first session of the Universal Periodic Review

7-18 April 2008

Republic of the Philippines

Description of the methodology and the consultation process followed for the preparation of information provided under the universal periodic review

As stakeholders to the UPR, we in the Philippine NGO community prepared this report by conducting a National Consultation Workshop among local NGOs and civil society groups regarding the UPR process. This activity was organized by the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) through the help of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia). The result of this workshop was the formation of a National NGO Caucus and a drafting committee that gathered credible and reliable information and data from the different organizations who participated in the Consultation Workshop. A draft report was distributed to various civil society organizations for validation before its submission to the OHCHR as the secretariat for the UPR process. In writing this report the drafting committee also considered the reports, recommendations, and observations of the different Special Procedures and Working Groups, which were submitted to the HRC.

It should be noted that despite the willingness of Philippine NGOs to participate and encourage a national consultation process with the State and the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) in preparation for the UPR, the Philippine government and the NHRI have not taken any step towards this process and have been either unwilling or unable to institute dialogue and cooperation with civil society.