15 December 2014 - Philippine Department of Justice Secretary Leila M. De Lima led the Philippine delegation to the 3rd United Nations Inter-Agency Meeting on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which was organized by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the Council of Europe in on November 04.
Deputy Executive Secretary Teofilo S. Pilando, Jr., DOJ State Prosecutor Atty. Gail Maderazo, and First Secretary Hendrik Garcia of the Permanent Delegation to UNESCO were the other members of the Philippine delegation.
The meeting brought together concerned UN agencies, Member States, international and regional organizations, academe and media practitioners, to discuss the threats against the safety of journalists and the need to combat impunity surrounding the crimes against them. Recommendations centered on improving implementation of the U.N. Plan of Action and strengthening national-level strategies.
Secretary De Lima underscored that the government bears the primary responsibility to ensure the protection of journalists, and shared the Philippine progress on the matter, particularly the composite team approach, adopted by the Inter-Agency Committee under Administrative Order No. 35 (A.O. 35), which she chairs.
The A.O. 35 Inter-Agency Committee is the primary body tasked to investigate all cases of extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and other grave violations of the right to life, liberty and security, including media killings, both by state and non-state forces and to ensure a focused case build-up and speedy resolution of all unsolved and new cases.
A.O. 35 adopts the “composite team approach” whereby prosecutors and investigators collaborate, cooperate and coordinate in the investigation and build-up of validated cases of extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and other grave violations of the right to life, liberty and property. This creates “a pre-positioned” personnel able to respond quickly to these cases.
Secretary De Lima also held bilateral meetings with officials from UNESCO, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of expression, and the Council of Europe, to discuss possible cooperation with the Philippines and in the region. END