The case of Natalia M. Alonso and Others v. the Philippines. Opinions of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women dated March 8, 2023. Message No. 155/2020.
In 2020, the author of the communication was assisted in preparing a complaint. The complaint was subsequently communicated to the Philippines.
As seen from the text of the Opinions, the authors of the communication were 24 Filipino citizens who were members of the non-profit organization "Malaya Lolas" ("Free Grandmothers"), created to provide support to women who were sexually enslaved by soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines during World War II. The authors claimed that the State party had violated their rights under articles 1, 2 "b" and "c" and 6 of the Convention (paragraph 1.1 of the Opinions).
Legal positions of the Committee: legal protection must be adequate, effective, prompt, large-scale and proportionate to the severity of the damage caused. Depending on the circumstances, remedies should include: restitution (restoration of rights), compensation (in the form of money, goods or services) and rehabilitation (provision of medical and psychological assistance and other social services). The means of compensation for civil damage and measures of criminal punishment cannot be mutually exclusive (paragraph 9.3 of the Opinion).
States parties are obliged to provide compensation to victims of torture from a procedural and substantive point of view. In order to comply with their procedural obligations, States parties should enact legislation and establish complaint mechanisms and ensure that such mechanisms and bodies are effective and accessible to all victims. Since the consequences of the use of torture are long-term, the application of limitation laws should be avoided, since they deprive victims of their due compensation, compensation and rehabilitation. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women considers that compensation (including restitution, compensation and rehabilitation) should cover the totality of the damage caused to the victim and include measures capable of ensuring that violations cannot be repeated, taking into account the circumstances of each case (paragraph 9.4 of the Opinions).
The Committee's assessment of the factual circumstances of the case: It has taken note of the authors' statement that they have been subjected to ongoing discrimination by the State party in violation of their rights under the Convention. The Committee noted that the main Philippine Government body charged with monitoring compliance with international obligations related to women, the Philippine Commission on Women's Affairs, had not addressed the institutionalized system of sexual slavery that existed during wartime, the consequences of its existence for victims/victims or their protection needs. He stressed that at the same time, Filipino war veterans, among whom men predominate, enjoyed special and honorable treatment authorized by the state, including benefits for education and medical care, payments in connection with old age, disability and death, as well as burial benefits. The Committee took into account the authors' claim that the lack of the same honorable treatment, recognition, benefits or services or any form of support for the applicants was discriminatory (paragraph 9.2 of the Opinions).
With regard to the authors' allegations that the State party's failure to provide them as civilians - to victims of the armed conflict and victims of the wartime sexual slavery system, adequate social support, reparations, benefits and recognition commensurate with the damage they suffered, was a violation of articles 1 and 2 of the Convention, the Committee referred to paragraph 19 of its General recommendation No. 33 on women's access to justice, where it recommends that States -Participants should ensure that legal protection is adequate, effective, prompt, inclusive and proportionate to the severity of the damage caused. Depending on the circumstances, remedies should include restitution (restoration of rights), compensation (in the form of money, goods or services) and rehabilitation (provision of medical and psychological assistance and other social services). The means of compensation for civil damage and measures of criminal punishment cannot be mutually exclusive (paragraph 9.3 of the Opinion).
Taking into account the extreme severity of the acts of gender-based violence to which the authors were subjected, and their right not to be subjected to continued discrimination and the right to restitution, compensation and rehabilitation, as well as taking into account the lack of any possibility to ensure that their rights are respected to the fullest extent, the Committee concluded that the State party violated its obligations under the Convention (paragraph 9.5 of the Opinions).
The Committee's conclusions: The State party has failed to comply with its obligations and thus violated the authors' rights under articles 1 and 2 of the Convention (paragraph 10 of the Opinions).