CHR backs UN rapporteur’s call for Philippines to rejoin ICC

MANILA — The Commission on Human Rights on Friday, June 20, seconded United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan’s call for the Philippines to return as a member of the International Criminal Court.

CHR also agreed to the special rapporteur’s demand for the ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

This after Khan presented her report before the UN Human Rights Council, where she discussed the situation of freedom of expression in the Philippines, following her visit to the country in January 2024.

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Supporting the rapporteur’s call to address the rampant occurrence of red-tagging, killing of journalists and other attacks on media, CHR noted that Filipinos’ right to freedom of expression and opinion is “inherently linked to access to diverse sources of information, protection from threats, and meaningful participation in public life.”

“CHR remains firm in its stand that while the Philippines has seen improvements in this area, there remains a clear need for fundamental reforms to ensure that the free flow of information remains central to the country’s democracy,” it said.

CHR condemned censorship including the blocking of some media outlets and websites, and the "lack of proactive measures to support self-regulating media entities."

It urged the government to enhance the country’s legal framework to protect civil society, media workers, and other stakeholders from threats to press freedom, dissent, and civic participation, including the passage of the Media Workers’ Welfare Bill and Journalist Protection Bill, decriminalization of libel, and re-examining the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

Last May, journalist Johnny Dayang was killed in his residence in Aklan. He is among the 200 journalists killed over the past 40 years.  

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The Philippines stands 116th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders noted that the country has received a slightly better global score in terms of press freedom, but still creates a “difficult situation” for media workers. It remains the deadliest country for journalists in Asia Pacific.

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State agencies like the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict also contributed to creating a “chilling effect” among media workers through red-tagging, said Amnesty International.

Mechanisms focused on curbing state abuses must also be strengthened, CHR said, which includes the Administrative Order No. 35, an inter-agency task force to solve cases of political violence in the form of extrajudicial killings, and Executive Order No. 31 that institutionalized the Philippine open government partnership.

CHR also called for a stronger implementation of the Philippine Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists, a national plan promoting the safety and protection of Filipino journalists and media workers, as well as for the expansion of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security.

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