Jail congestion and the challenge of humane safekeeping tackled in forum to mark 10th year of OPCAT

The Balay Rehabilitation Center, convener of the United Against Torture Coalition in the Philippines (UATC) and civil society prime mover of the accession of the Philippines to the Optional Protocol To The Convention Against Torture (OPCAT), has organized a forum to mark the tenth anniversary of the entry into force of the OPCAT in Hotel Rembrandt on November 11, 2016.

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) which served as the co-organizer of the event reported the following issues that it has been facing which have been aggravated by the aggressive campaign against illegal drugs by the Duterte Administration.

The Filipino expert and recently re-elected member of the UN Sub-Committee for the Prevention of Torture (SPT), Dr. Caridad June Lopez, said that the establishment of an effective National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) will be able to assist duty bearers to promote humane treatment of detainees and to reduce the risk of torture in places of detention. She also highlighted the risk to mental health of poor prison conditions which may arguably be considered as a form of inhuman treatment in some contexts.

Its torture preventive framework is based on a triangular relationship between States Parties, the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT), and national preventive mechanisms (NPM), and on the premise of a constructive dialogue and cooperation between the preventive bodies and the relevant States authorities. For OPCAT to be truly effective, all actors need to be brought together.

The forum was attended by representatives from the Department of Health, Department of Justice, and the Department of Interior and Local Government. The Commission on Human Rights and national and international civil society organizations also participated in the activity. A representative from the House Committee on Human Rights was also present.