A SMALL working group was created by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to fast-track investigation and prosecution of cases of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations like the use of child combatants and land mines.

“The IHL cases will be referred to the AO 35 working group. These are 263 incidents supported with records from regions IV-A, IV-B, V, VI, VII, and VIII,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said.

AO 35 task force is a special unit of the DOJ that investigates politically-motivated killings or extrajudicial killings of members of civil society groups, political movements, and people’s and non-government organizations.

Earlier, Guevarra revealed that the DOJ task force has dropped 29 cases either due to a lack of witnesses or after the complainants have shown a lack of interest in prosecution.

“There were 29 EJK and torture cases in Regions IV and VIII that were delisted for lack of witnesses or lack of interest on the part of the complainants. Most of these cases reached the investigation stage at the PNP (Philippine National Police), CHR (Commission on Human Rights), and NPS (National Prosecution Service) levels only. The review of unsolved AO 35 cases in other regions is still going on,” Guevarra said.

On the other hand, cases involving enforced disappearances will remain to be investigated by the task force, Guevarra made the assurance. By Hector Lawas

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Hector Lawas