CHR condemns NPA's use of landmines in Davao del Sur attack

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 4): CHR condemns NPA's use of landmines in Davao del Sur attack

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said on Tuesday it firmly condemned the use of landmines by the New People's Army (NPA) rebels in the Davao del Sur attack that left at least eight soldiers wounded last Sunday.

“The incident is a violation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) signed by the government and the communist insurgents in 1998 that bans the use of landmines,” CHR Chairperson Loretta Ann P. Rosales said.

Rosales described landmines as anti-vehicle and anti-personnel mines that do not differentiate between civilians and soldiers, and may claim lives even of farmers, their wives and their innocent children.

She added that landmine blast is an infringement against the right to life as landmine devices remain lethal for decades once laid.

She urged the NPA rebels to stand for the agreements set forth in the landmine accord and cease to persist with the impunity of landmine use.

She said she had instructed the CHR regional office in Davao to immediately conduct an investigation to ascertain the circumstances of the attack.

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