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and of nations large and small, in order to save succeeding generations from
the scourge of war.
The promotion of human rights is also the indispensable predicate of
peace and progress. For this reason, on December 10, 1948, the United
Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its two
implementing covenants are the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights. These instruments not only denounced nazism and fascism, but also
recognized that the security of individual rights, like the security of national
rights, was a necessary requisite to a peaceful and stable world order.
The interesting question is what has happened to human rights in this new
millennium? The end of the Cold War ended the bipolar world starring the
West led by the United States and the East led by Russia. The end result of
that clash of civilization is the emergence of a unipolar world dominated by
democracy as the political ideology and the triumph of capitalism as the bible
of economics. With communism out in the cold, the world awaited with bated
breath the dawn of universal peace and order. But when peace appeared to
be within mankinds grasp, 9/11 shattered to smithereens its illusion. 9/11
gave birth to new realities on ground with grave repercussions on the human
rights situation in the world, especially the most vulnerable sector, the poor
who are many, the many yet the most impotent.
On the universal level, 9/11 altered the face of international law. As the
worst victim of terrorism, the United States led the fight to excise and exorcise
terrorism from the face of the earth. It pursued a strategy characterized by a
bruising aggressiveness that raised the eyebrows of legal observers. The
leader country of democracy did not wait for the United Nations to act but
immediately sought to search and destroy terrorists withersoever they may be
found. In less polite parlance, the search and destroy strategy gave little
respect to the sovereignty of states and violated their traditional borders. The
strategy which is keyed on military stealth and might had trampling effects on
the basic liberties of suspected terrorists for laws are silent when the guns of
war do the talking. The war on terrorism has inevitable spilled over effects on
human rights all over the world, especially in countries suspected as being
used as havens of terrorists. One visible result of the scramble to end
terrorism is to take legal shortcuts and legal shortcuts always shrink the scope
of human rights.
These shortcuts have scarred the landscape of rights in the Philippines. In
March 2006, Amnesty International issued a public statement expressing
cult of conformity and comfort, I submit that this view should consider the
following facts and factors:
One. Terrorism is just one means of violating our human rights, especially
our right to life itself, and should not consume our entire attention. Often,
terrorism attracts universal attention because of its cinematic impact the
shocking violence, the bravado of the villains, the heroism of the victims
rescuers, the sickening loss of lives and property and the dominance of the
animal in man. Terrorism is terrible enough but the mindless, knee jerk
reaction to extirpate the evil is more discomforting. The quickie solution is to
unfurl the flag, sing the national anthem and issue the high pitched call to
arms for the military and the police to use their weapons of destruction under
the theme victory at all cost. To put constitutional cosmetics to the military
police muscular efforts, lawmakers usually enact laws using security of the
state to justify the diminution of human rights by allowing arrests without
warrants; surveillance of suspects; interception and recording of
communications; seizure or freezing of bank deposits, assets and records of
suspects. They also redefine terrorism as a crime against humanity and the
redefinition is broadly drawn to constrict and shrink further the zone of
individual rights. If there is any lesson that we can derive from the history of
human rights, it is none other than these rights cannot be obliterated by
bombs but neither can they be preserved by bullets alone. Terrorism is a
militarypolice problem but its ultimate solution lies beyond the guns of our
armed forces.
Two. In fighting terrorism, let us not overlook the nonmilitary aspects of
our national security and their impact on human rights. The scholar Michael
Renver hits the bullseye with the following analysis:
terrorism is only symptomatic of a far broader set of deep concerns that
have produced a new age of anxiety. Acts of terror and the dangerous reactions
to them are like exclamation marks in a toxic brew of profound socioeconomic,
environmental, and political pressures forces that together create a
tumultuous and less stable world. Among them are endemic poverty, convulsive
economic transitions that cause growing inequality and high unemployment,
international crime, the spread of deadly armaments, largescale population
movements, recurring natural disasters, ecosystem breakdown, new and
resurgent communicable diseases, and rising competition over land and other
natural resources, particularly oil. These problems without passports are
likely to worsen in the years ahead. They cannot be resolved by raising
military expenditures or dispatching troops. Nor can they be contained by
sealing borders or maintaining the status quo in a highly unequal world.
apathy of those who can make a difference is the reason why violations of
human rights continue to prosper. The worst enemy of human rights is not its
non believers but the fence sitters who will not lift a finger despite their
violations. If we have learned anything from September 11 wrote New York
Times, columnist Thomas Friedman, it is that if you dont visit a bad
neighborhood, it will visit you.
Our work of protecting human rights is not yet finished. With the
incursions and threats of incursion to our human rights at this crucial moment
in our history, the clarion call to each one of us is to consecrate our lives to the
great cause of upholding our human rights. When Rizal turned his face
towards the rising sun, he saw hope in a heroic people carrying on the fight.
Let us not allow the shadow of ignorance, indifference or indolence eclipse
this hope so that we may continue to see a tomorrow begin in the East.
Thank you and again, congratulations.
Endnotes:
* Downloaded at http://www.supremecourt.gov.ph/speech/ue_speech.htm
[1] Zaide and Zaide, Martyrdom at Bagumbayan in Jose Rizal: Works and Writings of a Genius, Writer, Scientist
and National Hero (1994).
[2] Diokno, J. A Nation for Our Children (1987), pp. 45.
[3] Universal Declaration of Human Rights.