Press Statement | December 8, 2017
International human rights NGOs expressed their condemnation of the recent killings of human rights defenders in the Philippines, days before the commemoration of International Human Rights Day on December 10. These include Amnesty International (AI), Front Line Defenders (FLD), and the World Organization against Torture (OMCT).
“Amnesty International is alarmed by the rising killings of human rights defenders and political activists in the Philippines. In recent weeks, a growing number of activists, community and religious leaders have been fatally shot by unknown gunmen. Fatalities include long term activists Elisa Badayos, Eleuterio Moises, and religious leader Marcelito ‘Tito’ Paez in Nueva Ecija, Luzon,” AI said in a statement on December 6, 2017. [Full AI statement through this: https://www.amnesty.org/en/
AI called for the “prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigation” into the killings of the activists, and “for those responsible, including those with command responsibility, to be held to account in fair trials.”
Front Line Defenders, an international NGO based in Dublin, Ireland, strongly condemned the killing of Badayos and Moises. They also called on the Philippine government to “guarantee, in all circumstances, that all human rights defenders in the Philippines, are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.” [Full FLD statement through this: https://www.
Geneva-based World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) called on the Philippines government to provide adequate reparation and compensation to the relatives of Badayos and Moises, and to “put an end to all acts of harassment and intimidation against all human rights defenders in the Philippines.” [Full OMCT statement through this: http://www.omct.org/human-
Int’l solidarity groups in eleven countries to hold protest actions, activities vs HR violations in PH
On December 10, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, a global network of organizations outside the Philippines, is set to hold protest actions and activities in at least eleven countries regarding the worsening human rights situation in the Philippines. Filipino migrant workers and human rights advocates will conduct said activities in the following countries:
Japan – Tokyo, Nagoya
Hongkong
Canada – Vancouver, British Columbia; Ontario
South Korea – Seoul
Australia – Sydney, Melbourne
US – Southern California, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, Chicago
Italy – Rome
Belgium – Brussels
France – Paris
Germany – Berlin, Hamburg
Netherlands – The Hague
ICHRP will launch its US chapter on December 9 in Portland, Oregon to announce plans for a US-wide campaign to stop the killings in the Philippines.
“After Trump’s recent visit with President Duterte – a conversation which paid no heed to human rights – the US plans to send up to $111 million in military aid to the Philippines, despite over 14,000 extrajudicial killings under Duterte. As Trump allots greater tax dollars to military, the time for people in the US to rise up in solidarity with Filipinos grows increasingly urgent,” stated ICHRP-US.
