The verdict is out.  More than two years after the families of slain human rights defenders Eden Marcellana and Eddie Gumanoy filed a complaint against the Philippine’s government, a UN body has ruled that the government was guilty of violating the right to life of the said human rights defenders and was negligent in providing an effective remedy. 

The UN Human Rights Committee—the UN treaty body monitoring the States parties' compliance to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), said that “it is of the view that the facts as found by the Committee reveal violations by the Philippines of article 2, paragraph 3 (the right of violated persons to effective remedies and the State ensuring that such remedies are provided and enforced); article 6, paragraph 1 (the right to life of every person); and article 9, paragraph 1 (the right to liberty and security of persons) of the Covenant."

Dana Marcellana, one of Eden's daughters, sadly said that, "We welcome the UN decision but we are also very much worried about my father's safety as he is facing the possibility of arrest.  We have lost our mother; we don't like to lose our father, too."  Orly Marcellana is among the 72 listed in the fabricated charges.

The rights group Karapatan deplored the serious threat foisted by state security forces and their agents against human rights defenders and journalists and called on the public to support the impeachment proceedings against Arroyo for presiding over human rights violations.  

(Courtesy Karapatan)