UN Philippines chief lauds enhancement of PH capacity for forensic investigation into potentially unlawful deaths

MANILA, 3 July 2023--The United Nations (UN) Joint Programme for Human Rights began today a five-day capacity-building session for government forensic pathologists on the Minnesota Protocol.

The Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Deaths is a set of guidelines for investigating deaths that may have been caused by human rights violations, such as extrajudicial killings, torture, or disappearances. 

The facilitators of the session included Dr. Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, arbitrary and summary killings visiting in an academic capacity; Dr. Stephen Cordner, Professor of Forensic Medicine at Monash University, Atty. Kingsley Abbot of the University of London, Dr. Luis Fondebrider, an internationally renowned forensic anthropologist; and Ms. Leone Scott who served for many years in the New Zealand Police.

UN Resident Coordinator in the Philippines Gustavo Gonzalez called the capacity-building initiative a "historic process," marking the Philippines and the UN's decision to work hand in hand to enhance institutional accountability."

On 22 July 2021, the Philippines and the UN signed the UN Joint Programme Programme on Human Human RightsRights. The three-year UN joint programme was developed to implement Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution 45/33, adopted on 7 October 2020, which outlined specific areas for capacity-building and technical cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines. The joint programme document was signed by Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra, Locsin and Gonzalez, with the late Jose Luis Gascon of the Commission on Human Rights in attendance.

Aside from the DoJ, the UN joint programme is being co-implemented by the Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat (PHRCS), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), the Department of Health (DOH), the Anti-Terrorism Council-Program Management Center (ATC-PMC), the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) as well as the academe will also be core partners in the implementation of the programme.  

UN entities involved in the programme - the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); the UN Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT); and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) – will work with the Government, drawing on expertise and best practices to apply human rights-based approaches in these areas.