Gov’t Using Taxpayers’ Money to Cover Up Bloody Rights Record at UN?

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PUBLISHED ON April 2, 2008 AT 3:52 PM

44 delegates is ‘too much’

About 44 government officials will be sent by the Arroyo government to Geneva when the Universal Periodic Review on the Philippines will be conducted by the UN Human Rights Council on April 11, 2008. This was the information gathered by the Philippine UPR Watch, a coalition of non-governmental organizations monitoring the UPR event.

This prompted them to ask, “If this is true, why would the Arroyo government need to send a number of delegates that is as big as the 47-member council?”

Philippine UPR Watch also expressed concern on taxpayers’ money being spent to cover the expenses for such a huge number of government envoys. “Will taxpayers’ money cover the expenses of 44 government delegates to the UN? This is a very expensive mobilization of representatives, when they should spend people’s money to alleviate the current rice shortage and provide for quality social services.”

The group said there is no lack of government representatives in the UN that would be able to answer the UNHRC during the review.

For the Philippine UPR Watch, the government has to send that many people and spend that much money because of its indefensible human rights atrocities.

“Sending 44 delegates to the UN is not the measure of government’s seriousness in addressing the human rights crisis in the Philippines but its desperation to cover up their bloody human rights record.”###

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One Response to “Gov’t Using Taxpayers’ Money to Cover Up Bloody Rights Record at UN?”

tonyocruz.com » Blog Archive » Philippine UPR report, ‘lopsided, one-sided and self-serving’ Says:
April 7th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
[...] Philippine national report on the UPR 4. Summary of independent UPR reports on the Philippines 5. People’s UPR Watch statement assailing the 44-member government delegation to the UPR Read More Post a [...]

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