The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) has issued an opinion on the case of the politically motivated detention of Senator Leila De Lima (Philippines), PGA Member.
Sen. De Lima is a co-signatory of the recent appeal on democratic renewal.
The WGAD Opinion No. 61/2018, which was initially adopted in its 24 August 2018 session, finds that the deprivation of Senator De Lima’s liberty is arbitrary and in contravention of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and, above all, the legally binding norms of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). It explicitly found that her detention “lacks legal basis” and resulted from her personal convictions and public statements regarding extrajudicial killings in the country and from the exercise of her right to take part in government and the conduct of public affairs.
The following measures were recommended by the UN Panel in the Opinion, namely:
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Senator De Lima’s shall be immediately released to be allowed to fulfil her duties as Senator and human rights defender
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there shall be an independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding her arbitrary detention, and
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The Republic of the Philippines shall provide her with compensation and other forms of reparations, including reinstatement in the positions from which she was ousted.
The Opinion urges the Government of the Philippines to take necessary steps to remedy Senator De Lima’s situation without delay, further referring her case to the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, and the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, and requests the Government to translate and publish the present Opinion.
Parliamentarians for Global Action fully endorses the findings contained in WGAD Opinion No. 61/2018 regarding the case of the Senator.
