Philippines rejects report of the Special Rapporteur Irene Khan

07-02-2024

Kevin Ngoma

South and East Asia Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

A recommendation by the United Nations Special Rapporteur to abolish the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) was rejected by the Philippine government. Officials highlighted how successful the Task force at quelling the 52-year-old insurgence and emphasised the peace talks the government is having with the Communist People’s Party-NPA-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

The NTF-ELCAC received an ally in Jonathan Malaya, Assistant Director General of the National Security Council, who called it a “game changer” in the fight against communist motivated terrorism, whilst the UN rapporteur, Irene Khan, referred to the task force as an "outdated" entity.

The NTF-ELCAC was created in 2018 with the task to combat the communist insurgency in the Philippines. Malaya emphasised how the remaining 11 guerrilla fronts have been substantially weakened, with Malaya expecting the full dismantling by the end of the year. He also mentioned that once the insurgency is defeated, that the task force would then transform into a peace and development entity.

Additionally, the Philippines did explain to Khan the roadmap which would transform the NTF-ELCAC into the national task force on unity, peace, and development. There are still concerns in the general public regarding the impact of the rebellion on society which so far has resulted in the deaths of 40,000 civilians and combatants, and resulted in the economic difficulties in various regions across the state. 

Sources and further readings

Cristina Chi, ‘UN rapporteur calls for abolition of NTF-ELCAC’. Philstar Global. (2 February, 2024). https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/02/02/2330414/un-rapporteur-calls-abolition-ntf-elcac accessed 7 February 2024.

Jairo Bolledo, ‘UN’s Khan urges Marcos: Abolish NTF-ELCAC’. Rappler.com. (2 February, 2024). https://www.rappler.com/philippines/un-special-rapporteur-irene-khan-recommends-marcos-government-abolish-ntf-elcac/ accessed 7 February 2024.