CHR’s De Lima: ‘Civilians Are Suffering Immensely’

Below is the speech delivered by Leila M. de Lima, chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, during a forum hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines in Makati City on Aug. 27.

Good Morning.

I would like to thank Mr. Jason Gutierrez and the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines for the invitation to speak before this assembly of journalists, foreign media, representatives from business sector and members of the diplomatic corps.

I recognize that the Muslim secessionist movement as a topic is not only relevant now because of the ongoing armed conflict, but it has been of importance to the FOCAP for many years now, especially since one of the FOCAP founders, Ambassador Rigoberto Tiglao, is a respected journalist with renowned expertise in the Muslim armed struggle in Mindanao.

To many people, it is puzzling how the ongoing armed conflict in the heartland of Mindanao is characterized in many media outfits. On one hand, it has been described an all-out war, a declaration that appears to have emanated from the MILF commanders who have vowed to wage such a war against the Philippine sovereign government. It could be as brutal as the war of attrition that characterized the military operations of the 1970s. Or it could be as bloody as the war waged during the Estrada administration, unforgettable to us here in the north/metropolis because of the somber, heart-breaking sight of soldiers returned home in flag-draped caskets carried in military trucks. On the other hand, the President herself had denied that the military is waging an all-out war but merely “removing all obstacles to peace”; the difference stated so matter-of-factly, yet still seemingly incomprehensible. What then is the difference between “all-out war” and “not an all-out war”?

It may matter in the arena of peace accord negotiations, the delineation of a true Muslim ancestral domain brokered by Malaysia and the OIC. It may matter in the realm of public opinion, with a government that must buoy its base of trust and support from its people. It may matter to the international community, international organizations, fund donors and foreign investors who may be concerned with the show of strength of the sovereign government or the legitimacy of the military operations.

However, inaccurate or even obtuse semantics cannot possibly and properly describe what is occurring in Mindanao. There are no distinguishable set of rules that differently govern an all-out war and a partial war, and thus, all these characterizations are mere gibberish.

There are five (5) things that must be perfectly and unequivocally clear:

1. The involvement of State security forces and an organized armed group (i.e. MILF) from within the state make this a non-international armed conflict;
2. Non-international armed conflicts are governed by customary and conventional international humanitarian law;
3. These laws propound an enforceable set of obligations, including their obligation to protect civilians and non-combatants, that equally apply to both the State and the MILF as an organized armed group;
4. Civilians are suffering immensely – tens of thousands are internally displaced because of this all-out or non-all-out war, dozens have been killed, hundreds of homes have been pillaged and razed, landmines have been utilized, shelters and rations are insufficient, children cannot go to school, sanitation is deplorable; and
5. The standards of compliance with these obligations of the State and the MILF have not been met, or have been shamelessly violated, rendering those in command liable under the doctrine of command responsibility.

Armed conflict is the worst environment for human rights. It doesn’t matter how the conflict is characterized by the MILF or the State: the human suffering involved is the unmistakable black mark that stains any incidence of armed conflict.

The justifications on both sides of this armed conflict do not change the obligation to protect civilians and non-combatants. On the part of the MILF, rogue commanders who refuse to obey the MILF leadership do not remove the responsibility of the latter to peaceably withdraw ALL secessionist forces from combat in areas populated by civilians. The murder of over forty (40) civilians, the destruction of whole communities and civilian infrastructure cannot be justified by accusations that the Government of the Philippines has reneged on the Memorandum of Agreement that paves the way for the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity. The grant of rights to the Muslim indigenous populations particularly on the right to its own ancestral domain may justify the contrary position of the MILF against the GRP. This, however, is addressed in the now suspended MOA-AD negotiations. Setbacks in the negotiations cannot by any stretch of the imagination justify the infliction of suffering on civilians.