Philippines : press release and joint FIDH/PAHRA briefing note
Paris, 7 February 2007: Following a mission of contact with civil
society in the Philippines, from 20 to 26 January 2007, FIDH wishes to
draw the attention of the international community on the serious human
rights violations taking place in the country.
2005 and 2006 have been black years indeed for human rights in the
Philippines. Politically motivated extrajudicial killings have reached
unprecedented levels, and very few - if any - have been prosecuted and
condemned for such acts.
The exact number of extrajudicial killings varies according to different
sources, but all converge to denounce the high number of killings, the
fact that they are politically motivated, and in their immense majority
thought to be perpetrated most often by members of the military, by the
police, or by groups linked to them. The number of cases is clearly on
the rise since 2005. In addition, with the coming election for the
Congress in May 2007, local groups expect a further increase of violence.
The main victims of the killings are members and leaders of legal
organisations (peasant and fishermen organisations, teachers’
associations, women’s groups, workers unions, etc), perceived by the
authorities as close to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and
its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA) [1].
Bayan, an umbrella mass organisation ideologically close to the CPP, and
its members (left political parties, trade unions, etc) are legal
organisations in the Philippines; however, they are regularly designated
as “fronts of the NPA” in the speeches of high level military and
government officials. This situation is paradoxical since those groups,
unions, parties and NGOs are legally entitled to operate in the
Philippines. That amalgam clearly contributes to the fact that the
leaders, members and sympathisers of legal organisations have been
victims of numerous targeted extrajudicial killings. "Even if they might
share the same ideology, a clear distinction should be drawn between
peaceful legal parties and organisations on the one hand, and the armed
groups on the other hand", said Sidiki Kaba, President of FIDH.
The perpetrators of the extra-judicial killings are rarely identified by
the police and never brought to justice. Human rights defenders face
huge risks in order to document the violations and assist the victims.
The tribute they paid in 2006 is particularly heavy [2].
Following the national and international indignation at the high number
of extrajudicial killings over the past year, the government established
the Melo Commission in August 2006, a special Commission of Enquiry to
address media and activists’ killings. Its independence and impartiality
have been widely questioned in the Philippines. Since the appointment of
the Commission, extrajudicial killings have continued unabated. At the
end of January 2007, the Melo Commission had achieved its report but has
not yet made it public.
FIDH considers that the Melo Commission report should be made public as
a matter of urgency. "Only prosecution of high level officials for human
rights violations will send a signal to the authors of extrajudicial
killings that such behaviour will not be tolerated anymore", concluded
Sidiki Kaba.
See the FIDH/PAHRA mission briefing note on FIDH Website :
http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/0702note-philippines.pdf
Press contact : Karine Appy + 33 1 43 55 14 12 / + 33 1 43 55 25 18 -
kappy fidh.org
Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l’Homme
International Federation for Human Rights - FIDH
17, passage de la Main d’Or
75011 Paris - France
tel : ++ 33 1 43 55 25 18 / fax : ++ 33 1 43 55 18 80
www.fidh.org