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ICHRP-Canada Open Letter to President Rodrigo Duterte

ICHRP Secretariat
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ICHRP-Canada Open Letter to President Rodrigo Duterte

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December 6, 2017

President Rodriqo R. Duterte
Malacañang Complex
1000 Jose P Laurel Sr, San Miguel,
Manila, Metro Manila
Philippines

 

Dear President Duterte:

As human rights defenders in the Philippines become under increasing attack, we, the International Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP-Canada), are compelled to express our deep concern regarding your most recent orders to crackdown on legal and progressive organizations in the Philippines.  We add our voices to the chorus of organizations and activists in the Philippines and from around the world who are calling for your government to resume the peace negotiations and put a stop to the harassment and killings of those who are vocal about ongoing human rights violations and the imposition of martial law in Mindanao.

Recent declarations that you will “kill human rights defenders” who criticize the conduct of your drug war which has resulted in thousands of extrajudicial killings in mostly urban poor communities, is beyond comprehension.  According to numerous sources throughout the country, several human rights defenders (HRDs) have subsequently received direct threats, have been harassed, or murdered by or on behalf of the Philippine military. These are among the most recent examples that have been brought to our attention:

  • Legal and progressive organizations Karapatan, Piston and the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) were targeted as “communist front organizations” and its leaders and members have been threatened with or have been arrested.
  • On October 25, 2017, paralegal Edwin Pura, 49, was gunned down by two armed men in Gubat, Sorsogon province. Pura was a paralegal staff of Atty. Ron Ely Espinosa of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), a group of human rights lawyers.
  • On the evening of November 20, nine members of the Karapatan-led quick reaction mission, all of them peasants, in Nasugbu, Batangas province were illegally arrested by the police and the Philippine Air Force. The team of at least 30 members were about to go to communities affected by the recent military operations when when these arrests took place.
  • On November 28, 2017, Karapatan Negros Oriental coordinator Elisa Badayos and peasant leader Eleuterio Moises were shot and killed by unnamed men, while on a fact-finding mission in Bayawan, Negros Oriental.
  • On November 30, 2017, “Wanted” posters bearing the pictures and names of leaders of progressive organizations in Davao, including Karapatan’s Hanimay Suazo and Bayan’s Sheena Duazo, were once again being circulated. The leaders, collectively known as “Haran 15” were charged with trumped-up charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention.
  • On December 4, at around 8pm,Fr. Marcelito “Tito” Paez, former parish priest in Guimba and currently coordinator of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines in Central Luzon, was shot while driving his vehicle at San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija On December 3, 2017, Pastor Lovelito Quiñones, 57, a pastor of Kings Glory Ministry, a resident of Sitio Anapla, Brgy. Don Pedro, Mansalay, was shot by elements of the Regional Mobile Group (RMG) in Sitio Anapla, Brgy. Din Pedro, Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro.

 

These recent actions and declarations by your government, coupled with the many other incidents of killings and arrests of peasants, Moro indigenous peoples and development workers is reminiscent of the pattern of vicious attacks against human rights defenders during the martial law period of dictator Ferdinand Marcos and the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.  We are appalled as these attacks are becoming more brazen, even targeting fact-finding, quick reaction and humanitarian missions, further constricting the remaining spaces for independent investigations by human rights groups on violations by state forces.

We are appealing to you to stop the attacks against human rights defenders in the Philippines, to rescind all policies and pronouncements that endanger the lives and security of these human rights defenders and vulnerable communities, and to ensure a safe and enabling environment for HRDs.

Sincerely,

Bern Jagunos
For ICHRP-Canada

 

Cc:

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Government of Canada;

NDP Critic, Foreign Affairs;

Conservative Critic, Foreign Affairs;

Philippine Embassy in Canada;

Embassy of Canada in the Philippines;

Hon. Jesus Dureza
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process;

Ret. Maj. Gen. Delfin Lorenzana
Secretary, Department of National Defense;

Hon. Vitaliano Aguirre
Secretary, Department of Justice;

Hon. Jose Luis Martin Gascon
Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights,

 

*The International Coalition on Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP)  is a global network  of organizations  outside the Philippines who are concerned about human rights and committed to work for a just and lasting peace in the Philippines.

Condemn killing of Fr Marcelito Paez, Pastor Lovelito Quinones, and eight indigenous leaders, recommit to Peace Talks with the NDFP

ICHRP Secretariat
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Condemn killing of Fr Marcelito Paez, Pastor Lovelito Quinones, and eight indigenous leaders, recommit to Peace Talks with the NDFP

ichrp

December 8, 2017

H.E. Rodrigo Duterte
President of the Republic
Malacañang Palace,
JP Laurel St., San Miguel
Manila Philippines

E-mail: op@president.gov.ph or send message through http://president.gov.ph/contact-us/

Dear Excellency,

Our Coalition calls for your unqualified condemnation of the shooting of Fr Marcelito “Tito” Paez, a servant of God, who selflessly served the Filipino people. On December 4, Father Tito was gunned down by unidentified men while driving his vehicle in Jaen, Nueva Ecija. He was rushed to a hospital in the nearby town of San Leonardo where he died from bullet wounds.

Fr Tito was a courageous human rights advocate and even on his last day he worked for the freedom of a political prisoner, Rommel Tacay. Tacay is the president of the alliance of peasant farmers in Central Luzon. He was arrested in March 2017 by soldiers of the 56th Infantry Battalion, and until yesterday was detained in the provincial jail in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.

Fr Tito was a native of San Jose, Nueva Ecija, and as a priest served in parishes across the province until his retirement in 2015. His pastoral duties were carried out alongside his abiding commitment to social justice and human rights. He was active in organisations opposed to the Marcos dictatorship, and continued that activism in the three decades since. He has been the subject of harassment and threats by elements of the military and the previous administrations in the Philippines.

At the time of his death, Fr Tito was the coordinator of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP) in Central Luzon. He is the first Catholic priest killed under youor Presidency.

Fr Tito’s death follows that of Pastor Lovelito Quinones of the Kings Glory Ministry in Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro who was shot by the Regional Mobile Group (RMG) on December 3, 2017, allegedly in an encounter. The military insisted that the pastor was a member of the New People’s Army (NPA). Meanwhile, eight Indigenous leaders were killed by soldiers from the 27th Infantry Battalion in the province of South Cotabato, Mindanao, also on the 3rd of December, 2017.

Excellency, you have often stated that you support killings, and not only of drug pushers. You have repeatedly condemned human rights activists and promised a new campaign of terror when turning away from efforts for peace and talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). The murder of Fr Paez, and of Pastor Quinones, and of these latest eight peasant leaders in south Cotobato and the direct result of your actions, which you must now retract, and instead condemn all extra-judicial killings without qualification.

We call for:

  1. The immediate investigation of the shooting to death of Fr Marcelito Paez, Pastor Lovelito Quinones, and the eight indigenous leaders in South Cotobato, to be conducted by an independent body.
  2. Prosecution of the perpetrators of these murders.
  3. Urgent re-starting of the Peace Talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines on its current agenda item of a Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms to address the roots of the social conflict.
  4. An end to your administration’s counter-insurgency program Oplan Kapayapaan which encourages extra-judicial killings and the filing of trumped-up cases against activists, community leaders and civilians.
  5. The Philippine Government to pursue its commitments under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL); and
  6. The Philippine Government to adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all major Human Rights instruments to which it is a signatory.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Murphy

Chairperson

Global Council, ICHRP

peter_murphy1_au@bigpond.com

Cc

Hon. Jesus Dureza, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, stqd.papp@opapp.gov.ph, feedback@opapp.net

Ret. Maj. Gen. Delfin Lorenzana, Secretary, Department of National Defense, info@dnd.gov.ph, webmaster@dnd.gov.ph

Vitaliano Aguirre, Secretary, Department of Justice, communications@doj.gov.ph

Jose Luis Martin Gascon, Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights, chairgascon.chr@gmail.com

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Hon Ms Julie Bishop MHR foreignminister2013@dfat.gov.au

Shadow Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Senator Penny Wong senator.wong@aph.gov.au

Australian Greens Foreign Affairs Spokesperson senator.dinatale@aph.gov.au

KARAPATAN karapatan@karapatan.org

International rights NGOs decry killings of human rights defenders in PH

ICHRP Secretariat
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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/documents/asa35/7566/2017/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.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/elisa-badayos-killed]

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-rights-defenders/urgent-interventions/philippines/2017/12/d24626/]

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.

Over 100 NGOs raise concern over plight of environmental defenders in PH

ICHRP Secretariat
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PRESS RELEASE
5 December 2017

 

Declaring “it is not a crime to defend the environment,” a total of 109 non-government organizations, social movements, and other environmental groups came out with a unified statement raising concern over the worsening human rights situation faced by environmental defenders in the Philippines, rated as the third deadliest country in the world and deadliest in Asia in the 2017 Global Witness Report on Killings of Environmental and Land Defenders.

Hailing from 22 different countries, the groups noted that “in just more than a year under the current administration of President Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, at least 42 environmental defenders have been killed, 240 have been slapped with harassment lawsuits, and at least 18,263 have been forcibly displaced because of their resistance to destructive projects.”

“President Duterte is by far the worst human rights violator to Filipino environmental defenders. Duterte is well on his way to making the Philippines the most dangerous country for environmental defenders by 2018,” said Mr. Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE), one of the main initiators of the statement.

The statement came out amid increasingly atrocious human rights violations perpetrated against Filipino environmental defenders and other activists over the past two weeks.

On November 26, an exodus was begun by 1,688 indigenous Lumad people opposing coal mining development in their ancestral lands in Lianga, Surigao del Sur. This was spurred by intensified military operations of the 75th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army. Later, the evacuation camp was food blockaded by the 75th IBPA to prevent the entry of humanitarian aid.

Last December 3, elements of the 27th and 33rd IBPAs massacred 8 indigenous T’boli and Dulangan Manobo tribe members opposing attempts by the DMCI corporation to establish a 3,000-hectare coal mine within their ancestral lands in South Cotabato province.

Various other incidents of extrajudicial killings, illegal arrests, enforced disappearances, and forced evacuations occurred in just over the past week in the provinces of Mindoro Oriental, Batangas, Agusan del Sur, Compostela Valley, and Surigao del Sur. Affected communities mainly confronted mining, plantation, and coal issues.

The groups observed that “civilians are systematically targeted by bloody military operations under an increasingly aggressive ‘Oplan Kapayapaan’ counter insurgency program and the dark shadow of Martial Law,” noting the recent systematic efforts of justifying killings and militarization by accusing environmental defenders as armed communist rebels or sympathizers.

The groups furthered in the statement that “Big Mining has much to do with the mayhem” with 55% of the monitored killings and 100% of the monitored harassment lawsuits involving anti-mining activists and community members.

“The Duterte administration must immediately free all remaining 16 illegally detained environmental defenders from prison, and drop all 225 trumped-up charges still lodged against environmental defenders. Urgent and concrete actions must also be taken to stop the killings of environmental defenders and bring to justice its perpetrators,” the groups said.

The unified statement was initiated by Kalikasan PNE together with the Environmental Advocates against Repression and Tyranny in defense of Human Rights (EARTH), a recently established environment and human rights coalition united to oppose human rights violations perpetrated against environmental defenders.

Kalikasan PNE and EARTH announced their intention to mobilize their ranks in time for the December 10 Human Rights Day mobilizations planned by various movements opposing the worsening climate of impunity in the country.
Reference: Clemente Bautista, National Coordinator – Kalikasan PNE – 0905 432 5211

 

–Unified Statement Follows–
Defend Environmental Defenders!

Environmental defenders are under attack in Asia’s deadliest country for environmentalists. In just more than a year under the current administration of President Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, at least 42 environmental defenders have been killed, 240 have been slapped with harassment lawsuits, and at least 17,748 have been forcibly displaced because of their resistance to destructive projects.

It is no wonder that the natural resource-rich country was declared the deadliest in Asia and third deadliest in the world in the Global Witness 2017 report on killings of environment and land defenders.

Women who found their voice in the defense of the environment like indigenous Ifugao and village official Marilyn Lango, one of the leaders of the community organizations opposing Australian-Canadian mining firm Oceanagold in Nueva Vizcaya province, are being imprisoned by police and military forces on non-bailable charges. Six women human rights defenders working on mining and other environmental issues in the region of the Cordilleras have also been similarly lodged with harassment suits.

Big mining has much to do with the mayhem. Anti-mining activists such as Lito Casalla, a leader of agrarian reform beneficiaries from Batangas province defending their lands against the San Miguel Corporation subsidiary limestone mine project, constitute 55% of the monitored killings. Big mines such as Filminera and their figureheads in government are in fact responsible for 100% of all trumped-up charges we monitored.

Civilians are systematically targeted by bloody military operations under an increasingly aggressive ‘Oplan Kapayapaan’ counter insurgency program and the dark shadow of Martial Law. Communities opposing big mines, plantations, and other destructive projects, repeatedly accused as supporters of communist rebels, are being attacked by military and paramilitary troops with combat operations and bomb runs.

It is not a crime to defend the environment. It is our conviction that safeguarding the rights of environmental defenders and their communities is imperative to the protection of our environment and conservation of our natural resources.

We urge the Duterte administration to immediately free all remaining 16 illegally detained environmental defenders from prison, and drop all 225 trumped-up charges still lodged against environmental defenders. Urgent and concrete actions must also be taken to stop the killings of environmental defenders and bring to justice its perpetrators.

Let our fellow environmental defenders continue to freely speak out and take action.

Signed:

1. Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE)

2. Center for Environmental Concerns – Philippines (CEC-Phils)

3. Ministry on Ecology – Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila

4. Miriam Public Education and Awareness Campaign for the Environment (Miriam PEACE)

5. Nilad – Metro Manila

6. 350.org East Asia

7. 350.org Pilipinas

8. AGHAM – Advocates of Science and Technology for the People

9. AGHAM Youth

10. Agra Indonesia

11. ALGA Association of Rural Women Kyrgyzstan

12. Alliance of Concerned Teachers – Central Luzon

13. Alyansa ng Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luzon (AMGL) – Central Luzon

14. Amihan

15. Anakbayan UP Los Banos

16. Asia Pacific Workers Solidarity Links (APWSL) – Korea

17. Asociación ambiental y cultural Petón do Lobo, Galicia (España)

18. Asociación Amigos y Amigas de los Bosques “O Ouriol do Anllóns” Galicia (España)

19. Asociación gallega Cova Crea, Galicia (España)

20. Association for the Promotion of Sustainable Development Hisar (APSDHISAR)

21. ATM

22. Bai Indigenous Women’s Network

23. Bayan GL

24. Bayan USA

25. BIEN (BPO Industry Employees’ Network) Philippines

26. Bukluran para sa Inang Kalikasan Batangas (BUKAL Batangas)

27. Cambodia IP Alliance

28. Cambodian Youth Network

29. Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines – UK (CHRP UK)

30. Campaign for Peace and Democracy – Manipur

31. Caraga Watch

32. Center for Environment – Bosnia and Herzegovina

33. Centre for Research and Advocacy – Manipur

34. Center for Sustainable Community Development (SCODE) Vietnam

35. Center for Sustainable Development in Mountainous Areas / AIPP – Vietnam

36. Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR)

37. Coalition for Climate Justice Nepal (CCJN)

38. College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) – Southern Tagalog

39. Community Initiatives for Development in Pakistan (CIDP)

40. Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA)

41. Computer Professionals’ Union (CPU)

42. COURAGE – LEAGUE

43. DECOIN Ecuador

44. Earthworks USA

45. Empower India

46. European Environmental Bureau

47. Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN)

48. Federation of Environmental and Ecological Diversity for Agricultural Revampment and Human Rights (FEEDAR & HR)

49. Global Witness – UK

50. Go Wild Films

51. Greenwatch Dhaka

52. Gram Bharati Samiti (GBS)

53. Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD)

54. Ibon International

55. International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS)

56. ILPS Indonesia

57. ILPS Netherlands

58. Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL)

59. Institute for National and Democracy Studies (INDIES) Indonesia

60. IP – Central Luzon

61. JAGO NARI

62. Kadamay – Central Luzon

63. Kalikasan Southern Tagalog

64. KARAPATAN – Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights

65. KARAPATAN – CL, Philippines

66. Katribu – Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas

67. Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas

68. Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) Philippines

69. Kohtuusliike (Movement for Moderate Lifestyle) – Finland

70. Lao Hamutuk – Timor Leste

71. Loas – Malaysia

72. Mangrove Action Project

73. Metal Worker’s Alliance Philippines

74. MHEP – Thailand

75. Mines, Minerals & People

76. National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) – USA

77. Nature, the Earth is entrusted to us! – Netherlands

78. Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN)

79. Netherlands Philippines Solidarity Association (NPSA)

80. Network of Indigenous Peoples in Thailand

81. NGO Federation of Nepal

82. NPI-NAFLU-KMU

83. One Nature / Sisters of Wilderness

84. Panalipdan Mindanao

85. Participatory Research Action Network (PRAN) Bangladesh

86. Paryavaran Mitra

87. Philippine Network of Food Security Programs (PNFSP)

88. Pinay sa Holland – Gabriela

89. Rainforest Rescue Germany

90. Rede contra a Minaría Destructiva na Galiza (ContraMINAccion)

91. River Coalition in Cambodia / NGOF

92. Roots for Equity

93. Rotary Club of Uptown Manila

94. Salva la Selva

95. SANDUGO Movement of Moro and Indigenous Peoples for Self-Determination

96. Santi Sena

97. Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, Philippines Region

98. Smallholder Farmers Association of Kenya

99. Sustainable AgroFood Platform

100. Sustainable Development Foundation

101. Tanggol Bayi (Defend Women) – Philippines

102. The Gaia Foundation UK

103. Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA)

104. UBINIG

105. UP Saribuhay

106. War on Want

107. Workers Alliance in Region III (WAR – III)

108. Working group Mission, Development & Peace of the Diaconie of the St. Joseph Church – HH. Matthias

109. Youth Association for Development
Countries of Signatories

1. Philippines
2. Bangladesh
3. United Kingdom
4. Cambodia
5. India
6. Indonesia
7. Pakistan
8. Thailand
9. Finland
10. Nepal
11. Kenya
12. Ecuador
13. Vietnam
14. Bosnia and Herzegovina
15. Timor Leste
16. Kyrgyzstan
17. South Korea
18. Spain
19. USA
20. Netherlands
21. Germany
22. Cameroon

Philippines: Stop harassment of human rights defender and their organization in Mindanao, Lift the Martial Law without further delay

ICHRP Secretariat
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Philippines: Stop harassment of human rights defender and their organization in Mindanao, Lift the Martial Law without further delay

AIPP letterhead

Philippines: Stop harassment of human rights defender and their organization in Mindanao, Lift the Martial Law without further delay

5 December 2017
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP)[1] strongly condemns the harassment and intimidation to a 21-year-old staff of Rural Missionaries of the Philippines – Northern Mindanao Sub-Region (RMP – NMR) with threats of rape against her and threats against her family. RMP – NMR has been receiving threats for the past four months but this recent incident is particularly alarming.[2]

On 20 November 2017, a person identifying him/herself as an intelligence asset of the 4th Infantry Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) threatened the RMP – NMR staff and claimed that her parents and siblings are under their surveillance. AIPP denounces such cowardly tactics employed by the military.

The staff of RMP – NMR is being pressured to provide information regarding the work of RMP – NMR, particularly disclosing their partners and allies who visit their office.  RMP – NMR, based in Iligan City of the Philippines’ Mindanao island with offices all over Northern Mindanao, has been active since 1969 in supporting the rural communities that are among the poorest and most voiceless in the island. The organization has been helping the communities in raising awareness and their issues, as well as stand with them against human rights violations and abuses.

The staff of RMP – NMR and human rights defenders under its sanctuary have drawn the attention of the military and have become the target of threats and harassment.  President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of Martial Law, which was extended by the Congress and Senate to the whole of Mindanao until the end of 2017, has led to intensification of military actions and impunity in the island.

The recent threat and intimidation to the staff of RMP – NMR is an example of an act to send a message of intention and capacity to cause harm or arrest anyone defying their authority.  The declaration of Martial Law in the name of providing security is misguided.  It has only led to further abuse of power and acts of impunity of the AFP and paramilitary forces operating in the island.  Furthermore, it has caused greater harm to the common people and increased their vulnerability to violations of human rights.

The staff of RMP – NMR, human rights defenders and communities, including other organisations working in the island for promoting and protecting human rights should be assured a safe working and living environment that is free from any kinds of threat and harassment. The authorities should be made accountable to the rule of law and nobody should be exempted from any acts of human rights violations regardless of political and economic status. Further, AIPP calls on the Philippine government to lift the Martial Law in Mindanao without further delay and ensure that justice is brought to the cases of human rights violations in the island.

As we commemorate the 16-day of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we call on our partners and allies in the region and beyond to join us in condemning gender-based violence as a method that puts emphasis on the power imbalance in our society with women and girls at the most vulnerable end. We stand with RMP – NMR in their work on human rights and their dedication to support the poorest and voiceless communities and peoples in Mindanao, Philippines.

Gam Awungshi Shimray
Secretary General
Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact

___________________________

[1] AIPP is a regional organization of indigenous peoples in Asia with 48 member organizations and movements in 14 countries.

[2] See the statement and appeal for support from RMP-NMR for more information at the link http://rmp-nmr.org/articles/2017/11/20/we-are-and-will-continue-be-people-state-killing 

Click here to download full statement.

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