Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The independent human rights institution in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM), Philippines. Email us at: rhrcarmm@gmail.com
or check out the following sites: http://twitter.com/ARMMRHRC
http://www.youtube.com/user/ARMMRHRC
Long Description
The Regional Human Rights Commission (RHRC) is the sole regional human rights state agency in
the ARMM, created by virtue of Section 16 of Republic Act No. 9054 (2001) and operationalized by
the ARMM Human Rights Commission Charter of 2012 (Muslim Mindanao Act No. 288). The
establishment of the RHRC affirms the Bangsamoro's right to promote human rights and to prevent
and address human rights violations.
The RHRC is an independent office that has the same powers and mandate as the national
Commission on Human Rights. It has primary and original jurisdiction to investigate, on complaint or
on its own initiative, cases of human rights violations within the Autonomous Region, to include civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights.
Mission
The mission of RHRC, as an independent institution imbued with probity and competence, is to
promote, protect, uphold, and fulfill human rights in the Bangsamoro by empowering communities for
the progressive realization of their rights and ensure that those responsible comply with human rights
standards towards transformative justice, peace, and development.
Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the forms of treaties, customary
international law , general principles and other sources of international law. International human rights
law lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order
to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.
source: www.ohchr.org
Related liks
Universal Declaration
of Human Rights
Human
Face
Human Rights
for
Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the
forms of treaties, customary international law , general principles and other Human Rights Day
sources of international law. International human rights law lays down
obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain List of Human Rights
acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental issues
freedoms of individuals or groups.
Human Rights in the
Universal and inalienable
World
The principle of universality of human rights is the cornerstone of
international human rights law. This principle, as first emphasized in the International Human
Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948, has been reiterated in Rights Law
numerous international human rights conventions, declarations, and
resolutions. The 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights, for
example, noted that it is the duty of States to promote and protect all human
rights and fundamental freedoms, regardless of their political, economic and
cultural systems.
All States have ratified at least one, and 80% of States have ratified four or
more, of the core human rights treaties, reflecting consent of States which
creates legal obligations for them and giving concrete expression to
universality. Some fundamental human rights norms enjoy universal
protection by customary international law across all boundaries and
civilizations.
Human rights are inalienable. They should not be taken away, except in
specific situations and according to due process. For example, the right to
liberty may be restricted if a person is found guilty of a crime by a court of
law.
Interdependent and indivisible
All human rights are indivisible, whether they are civil and political rights,
such as the right to life, equality before the law and freedom of expression;
economic, social and cultural rights, such as the rights to work, social
security and education , or collective rights, such as the rights to
development and self-determination, are indivisible, interrelated and
interdependent. The improvement of one right facilitates advancement of the
others. Likewise, the deprivation of one right adversely affects the others.
Equal and non-discriminatory
Non-discrimination is a crosscutting principle in international human rights law. The principle is present in
all the major human rights treaties and provides the central theme of some
of international human rights conventions such as the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women.
The principle applies to everyone in relation to all human rights and freedoms
and it prohibits discrimination on the basis of a list of non-exhaustive
categories such as sex, race, colour and so on. The principle of nondiscrimination is complemented by the principle of equality, as stated in
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: All human beings are
born free and equal in dignity and rights.
Both Rights and Obligations
Human rights entail both rights and obligations. States assume obligations
and duties under international law to respect, to protect and to fulfil human
rights. The obligation to respect means that States must refrain from
interfering with or curtailing the enjoyment of human rights. The obligation to
protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against human
rights abuses. The obligation to fulfil means that States must take positive
action to facilitate the enjoyment of basic human rights. At the individual
level, while we are entitled our human rights, we should also respect the
human rights of others.
Adequate Housing
Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right
Toolkit on the right to adequate housing
Administration of Justice
Expert Consultation on the Administration of Justice
Business and Human Rights
Business and Human Rights
Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises
Children
Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
OHCHR Thematic reports on children
Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
United Nations Study on Violence against Children
Civil and Political Rights
Human Rights Committee (HRC)
Climate change
Human Rights and climate Change
Rio+20 - United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
Coercive measures
Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures
Unilateral coercive measures and human rights
Cultural rights
Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights
Death penalty
Death penalty
Democracy
Equal participation in political and public affairs
Rule of Law - Democracy and Human Rights
Detention
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
Development (Good Governance and Debt)
Development - Good governance
Human rights and the financial crisis
Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the f
social and cultural rights
Open-ended working group on the right to development
Right to development
Disability and Human Rights
Human Rights of persons with disabilities
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
Disappearances
Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED)
Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
Discrimination
A special focus on discrimination
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Portal (ESCR)
Open-ended Working Group on an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Righ
Education
Human rights education and training
Special Rapporteur on the right to education
Environment
Human Rights and the Environment
Rio+20 - United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment
Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of haz
Executions
Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
Food
Special Rapporteur on the right to food
Toolkit on the Right to Food
Freedom of Opinion and Expression
Freedom of expression and advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violenc
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
Freedom of peaceful assembly and of association
OHCHR Seminar on effective measures and best practices to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights in th
Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association
Freedom of Religion and Belief
Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief
Health
Consultation on Elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members
Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental
Toolkit on the Right to Health
HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS and Human Rights
Human Rights Defenders
Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders
Human rights education and training
Human rights education and training
United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training
World Programme for Human Rights Education (2005-ongoing)
Human Rights Indicators
Human Rights Indicators
Independence of Judiciary
Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers
Indigenous Peoples
Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Fellowship programme
Main page Indigenous
Open-ended inter-sessional Working Group on the draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples
Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples
Working group on indigenous populations
Internal Displacement
Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons
International Order
Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order
International Solidarity
Independent expert on human rights and international solidarity
Mercenaries
Special Rapporteur on use of mercenaries as a means of impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determinat
Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means of impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determinat
Migration
Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW)
Migration and Human Rights
Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
Millenium Development Goals and Human Rights
The Millennium Development Goals and Post-2015 Development Agenda
Minorities
Fellowship programme
Main page Minorities
Special Rapporteur on minority issues
Nationality
Right to a Nationality and Statelessness
Older persons
11.
powers
and
P a g e 5 MMA 288
1.Investigate, on its own or on complaint by any party, all forms of human rights
violations committed within the Autonomous Region
;2.Adopt its operational guidelines and rules of procedure and cite for direct and indir ect
contempt those in violation thereof or of its lawful orders in accordance with the Rules of Court;
3.Provide appropriate legal and preve ntive measures for th e protection of human rights
of all persons within the Autonomous Region, as well as Autonomous Region constituents
residing abroad;
4.Provide legal aid services to the underprivileged residents of the Autonomous Region
whose human rights have been violated or need protection;
5.Exercise unhampered and unrestrained visitorial powers at any
t i m e o v e r j a i l s , p r i s o n s , detention facilities, locate d within the Autonom ous
Region, and it shall have unrestricted access to any detention facility inside military camps,
police lock-up cells, jails, prisons ,youth homes, and any detention, rehabilitation, confinement and
other similar facilities pursuant to R.A. No. 9745, otherwise known as the Anti-Torture Act of 2009;
6.Establish a continuing prog ram of rese arch, education and information to enhance
respectfor the primacy of human rights;
7 . R e c o m m e n d t o t h e R e g i o n a l A s s e m b l y a n d t o C o n g r e s s e ff e c t i v e m e a s u r e s
t o p r o m o t e human rights and to provide for compensation to victims of violations of human rights,
or their families;
8.Monitor
the
Philippine
and
ARMM
Regional
c o m p l i a n c e w i t h international treaty obligations on human rights;
Governments
bureau, offi ce
or agency
withi n
the
P a g e 1 3 MMA 288including the provision of security, shelter, relocation and livelihood assistance to
witnesses andtheir families.
S e c . 2 9 . Fi n a n c i a l A s s i s t a n c e P r o g r a m . T h e R e g i o n a l C o m m i s s i o n s h a l l e n h a n c e
i t s financial assistance program to victims ofhuman rights violations and their families.The
additionalfunding
for
the
Financial
Assistance Programs
shall
be allocated
for such purposes and shall be included thereafterin the annual regular appropriations for theRegionalC
ommissionand the ARMMRegional Government, and the same shall be automatically
andregularly released.
S e c . 3 0 . L e g a l A s s i s t a n c e Pro g r a m . T h e Re g i o n a l C o m m i s s i o n s h a l l i m p l e m e n t a
l e g a l assistance program to benefit victims of human rights violations consisting of the provision
of legal services in coordination with human rights organizations and lawyers groups, theIntegrated
Bar of the Philippines and Philippine law schools with legal aid programs,within theAutonomous
Region.U p o n
its
discretion,
t h e Re g i o n a l C o m m i s s i o n
may
also
provide
a l l o w a n c e s a n d incentives to private lawyers or lawyers' groups who would render their
professional
services
on behalf of theRegionalCommission in any court proceeding involving the litigation of humanrights
cases
\].S e c .
31.
Protection
ofARMMOFWs and
Migrants.
TheRegionalCommission
s h a l l undertake measures for the protection and
promotion of human rights ofARMM Overseas Filipino Workers and migrants. It may assign
organic personnel to act asHuman Rights Attachesin PhilippineEmbassies or consulates or deputize
Philippine Embassy or Consulate officers,resident private individuals of known probity and active
involvement in human rights work, or foreign-based human rights and migrant workers nongovernment organizations in countrieswhere the incidence of human rights violations ofARMM
OFWs
and
migrantsis
widespread
and commonplace,
including traditional host
countries ofOFWs.The assigned personnel acting as Human Rights Attache or deputized individuals of
theRegionalCommission shall monitor the status of human rights ofARMM OFWs and
migrantsliving abroad and establish networks among Filipinos for purposes of monitoring and
reportingcases of human rights violations,as well as for providing counseling and financial assistance
tovictims. They shall immediately notify the concerned Embassy officials of incidents of humanright
violations ofARMM OFWs and migrantsand provide immediate assistance to victims.