BRIEFING PAPER Universal Periodic Review
September 2016
Contacts Sarah M. Brooks International Service for Human Rights [email protected]
Jerbert Briola Medical Action Group [email protected]
THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN
THE PHILIPPINES
This paper assesses progress towards implementation of recommendationscentral to the protection of human rights defenders (HRDs) at the nationallevelbythePhilippinesgovernment.Basedonthisassessment, ISHRandtheMedicalActionGroup(MAG)seektoprovideguidancetoStatesonthird-cyclerecommendations that we believe will generate significant impact on theground – specifically, a recommendation to enact a law to protect humanrightsdefendersandpromotetheirwork.
SECOND CYCLE RECOMMENDATIONS AND CIVILSOCIETYASSESSMENTOFIMPLEMENTATION
1. Therewere five recommendations on the topicof HRDs during the second cycle of theUPR ofthe Philippines.1 Two of them were acceptedandthreerejected:
a) 129.35 ‘Take necessary measures toprovideadequateprotectiontojournalistsand human rights defenders, in particularregarding enforced disappearances andextrajudicialkillings.’–Accepted,France.
b) 131.15. ‘Engage in closer contact withUnited Nations bodies and, inter alia,accept the request by the SpecialRapporteur on human rights defenders tovisitthecountry.’–Noted,Norway.
c) 131.15. ‘Invite the UN Working Group onEnforced or Involuntary Disappearancesand the Special Rapporteur on humanrights defenders to visit the Philippines.’ –Noted,UK.
d) 131.32. Enhance its cooperation with theSpecial Rapporteur on the situation ofhuman rights defenders including byaccepting themandateholder's request tovisitthecountry.’–Noted,Ireland
e) 131.32. (cont.) ‘Take urgent measures toend extra-judicial killings, and enforceddisappearances of human rightsdefenders, to investigate all cases andbring those responsible to justice.’ –Accepted,Ireland
2. Civil society, however, has a rather scepticalview of the progress in the Philippines sincetheserecommendationsweremade.
3. None of the recommendations on the countryvisitswereaccepted.ThelastvisitfromaSpecialRapporteur to the Philippines was the SpecialRapporteur on the Right to Food in 2015.2Requests and reminders of the SpecialRapporteur on human rights defenders (2008,2010,2012)andtheWorkingGrouponEnforcedor Involuntary Disappearances (2013, 2015)remainoutstanding.
4. ThePhilippinesacceptedtworecommendationsfocused on the protection of journalists andHRDs, especially regarding enforceddisappearances and extrajudicial killings. TheGovernment affirmed during its statement onthe adoption of the UPR report in September2012 that the country was committed toinvestigatingcasesofextrajudicialkillingsaswellasbringperpetratorstojustice.TheAugust2016exchanges between the Government and theSpecial Rapporteur on extrajudicial killingsregarding a visit to the country should beconcretely followedupon to ensure that theseeffortstoinvestigateandseekaccountabilityforkillings are in line with international humanrightsstandards.
5. Despite accepting these recommendations,extrajudicial killing remains the gravest riskfacingHRDsworking inthePhilippines. In2015,FrontLineDefendersreceivedreportsofatleast31 HRDs murdered. In 2016, Global Witnessranked the Philippines the second mostdangerous country for HRDs3 and one of themostdangeroustobealandandenvironmentaldefender.4 Other risks facing HRDs includephysical attack, threats, intimidation,harassment, detention and slander. Manyinstances have been documented by local andregional NGOs in the past year, including theAsia Indigenous Peoples Pact5 (AIPP), theMedical Action Group6 and Task ForceDetaineesofthePhilippines(TFDP).7
CURRENT SITUATION FOR DEFENDERS IN THEPHILIPPINES: ESC RIGHTS DEFENDERS ATPARTICULARRISK
6. Defendersofeconomic,socialandcultural(ESC)rights, including land and environmentaldefenders, face significant challenges. Inattempts to peacefully defend their land oroppose major industrial projects, many HRDsface barriers to information to conduct theirwork, suchasmissingdataandunavailabilityofcontracts.
IntimidationandHarassment
7. Whenseekingthisinformation,frombothpublicandprivatesources,HRDscanbecometargetsof
violence,intimidationandharassment,includingbygovernmentofficials:
a) MsHoneyMaySuazo hasbeen the targetof continuousharassment and surveillancebylocalpolicesince2015.Themostrecentactsofharassment followher involvementinprovidingassistance tovictimsof forcedevictionduetothemilitarypresenceintheTalaingodregion,DavaodelNorteProvince.
b) Mr Antonio Nercua Ablon is a HRD andchairperson of human rights groupKarapatan in Western Mindanao. Headvocates for environmental rights, inparticular criticising large-scale regionalmining projects due to environmentalconcerns regarding their impact. In April2015 and October 2015, their SouthernMindanao offices were attacked byunidentified men. Staff are subjected tofrequentharassmentandintimidation.
c) MsEritaCapionDialang is thechairpersonof the indigenous people's organisationKalgad, in South Cotabato province, andpart of a large alliance of indigenouspeoples of South Mindanao. She is also avocal critic of a mining corporation whichwants to start exploiting tribal lands. Shehas been subject to threats andharassment; her sister-in-law was killed in2012, reportedly in retaliation for MsDialang’sadvocacy.
Detentions
8. ISHR has reported to the Committee on ESCRights on the recent trendof filing trumped-upcharges against indigenous leaders and HRDsand their communities to ‘delegitimise andcriminalisehumanrightswork’.
9. AntonioTolentino,betterknownasApungTony,is a village leader in Pampanga who sought toprotect farmers’ land rights to enable them tocontinue to cultivate land in the HaciendaDoloresarea.Hewas involved inadisputeovercontestedland,whichresultedinthekillingofafarmer by private security personnel. Tolentinohas been detained since 16 April 2014 oncriminal and administrative charges filed by,respectively, a security guard and the landdeveloper.
Extrajudicialkillings
10. IfHRDspersist intheirworkdespitethethreatsnotedabove,theycanbecomevictimsofextra-judicial killings. Most perpetrators of killings
escapepunishment,andobserversnotethat, inlight of the Duterte Administration’s stance onthe illegal drug trade, the perceived ‘costs’ ofkillingdefendersarelowerthaneverbefore.
11. In July 2016, Ms Gloria Capitan, a defenderfighting abuses by the coal industry and thepresidentof thepeople’sorganisationSamahanng Nagkakaisang Mamamayan ng Lucanin inBataan, was killed by two unidentifiedmen onmotorcycles. At the time of her death she wasleadingapetitiontoseektheclosureofopen-aircoalstorageandstockpileinhercommunity.8
12. After receiving numerous death threats to stophis work, in February 2014 community leaderSixto Bagasala was murdered in Malabon City.He headed Local Association of Urban PoorCommunitiesinthatcityandhadworkedfortherights of informal settlers to acquire secure,adequate,accessibleandaffordablehousing.
13. The situation which defenders of indigenousrights face in the Philippines continues todeteriorate. Indigenous communities areparticularly vulnerable and their right to free,prior, informed consent, enshrined in the UNDeclarationontheRightsof IndigenousPersonsand ILO C169, is often overlooked ormanipulated. This right is not recognised indomestic law. In this way, their work oftenintersects with land and environmental rightsactivists; similarly, they are often victims ofextrajudicialkillings,especiallyinMindanao.
14. Killingsof indigenous leaders includeMr JimmyLiguyonofindigenousorganisationKasilo(2012)and Mr Gilbert Paborada chairperson of thecommunity-based indigenous organisationPangalasag (Indigenous Shield) which resistedtheexpansionofoilpalmplantations(2012);MrEmeritoSamarca,allegedlykilledbymembersofa paramilitary group due to his work withALCADEV, a self-initiated school for the Lumadindigenouspeople.
15. Killings of community leaders in Mindanaospecifically include Mr Genesis Ambason, theSecretary-General of Tagdumahan, a grassrootsindigenous organisation that has campaignedagainst theentryof large-scaleminingventures(2012) as well as Mr Lito Abion, anothermember of Tagdumahan (2015); and MsTeresitaNavacilla, amemberof SavePantukanMovement, a network of indigenous peoplesfromthePantukanregionofMindanao(2016).
WHYALAWTOPROTECTDEFENDERS?
16. A law on the recognition and protection ofHRDs9 would guide States to develop nationallaws, policies and institutions to support thework of HRDs. As part of a safe and enablingoperating environment, this law would alsoreaffirmtheright to freedomofexpressionandto access information necessary for theirwork.It would also aim at protecting them fromreprisalsandattacks10andprovidethemwithaneffective tool to advocate for a stronger legalrecognitionoftheirworkontheground.Finally,itcanassistineffortstoseekaccountabilityandbring perpetrators to justice. This would be animportant step in a country such as thePhilippines.
17. This is not an impossible task. There is growinginterest internationally in the adoption anddevelopment of defender protection laws.Various UN bodies have supported thedevelopment and implementation of nationallaws for the recognition and protection ofHRDs.11 These bodies include the former UNSpecial Rapporteur on Human RightsDefenders,12 the UN High Commissioner forHumanRights,13theUNHumanRightsCouncil,14and the African Commission on Human andPeoples’ Rights.15 There is growing consensusthat defenders protection laws are also part ofcountries’ commitments and obligations topromote and protect human rights, outlined intheUNDeclarationonHumanRightsDefenders.
ABOUTTHISBRIEFINGPAPER ISHRandMAGencourageStatestoconsultUPRsubmissionsbylocalactivistsandmakerecommendationstothePhilippinesregardingtheprotectionofHRDs.ThispaperisaresultofcompilingpublicinformationanddirectcontactandexperienceofMAGintheprotectionoflocalHRDs.ISHRandMAGsuggestreadersconsultthesourcescitedforadditionalinformation.
1ReportoftheWorkingGroupontheUPRofthePhilippines.A/HRC/21/12.2CountryvisitoftheSpecialRapporteurontheRighttoFoodA/HRC/31/51/Add.13BriefingpapertotheCommitteeonEconomic,SocialandCulturalRightsonthePhilippines–ISHR(2016):TheSituationofHumanRightsdefendershttp://www.ishr.ch/sites/default/files/article/files/philippines_update.pdfp.5.4GlobalWitness–DeadlyEnvironment:https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/deadly-environment/andHowmanymore:https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/how-many-more/.5TFDP,2016:http://www.tfdp.net/campaigns/other-campaigns/519-urgent-appeal-the-ejk-of-gloria-capitan-hrd-and-president-of-the-samahan-ng-nagkakaisang-mamamayan-ng-lucanin-snml-in-mariveles-bataan.6ISHRCESCRBriefingPaper,p.5.7GlobalWitness,2016.8TheMedicalActionGroup,2016:http://magph.org/news/205-human-rights-group-condemns-the-killing-of-woman-human-rights-defender-appeals-to-duterte-for-justice.9ISHR,‘AModelLawfortherecognitionandprotectionofhumanrightsdefenders’,2016.Availableathttps://www.ishr.ch/sites/default/files/documents/model_law_full_digital_updated_15june2016.pdf.10Ibid.11Ibid.12ISHR,‘DevelopingAModelLaw’,2016.Availableathttp://www.ishr.ch/news/developing-model-national-law-protect-human-rights-defenders.13OfficeoftheHighCommissionerforHumanRights,‘HumanRightsDefenders:Protectingtherighttodefendhumanrights:FactSheetNo29’,p33,availableathttp://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FactSheet29en.pdf,andOHCHRreport‘PracticalrecommendationsforthecreationandmaintenanceofasafeandenablingenvironmentforCivilSociety’,A/HRC/32/20.14SeeA/HRC/RES/31/32,‘Protectinghumanrightsdefenders,whetherindividuals,groupsororgansofsociety,addressingeconomic,socialandculturalrights.15ISHR,‘FromRestrictiontoProtection’,2014.Availableathttp://www.ishr.ch/sites/default/files/article/files/research_report_on_legal_environment_for_hrds_upload.pdfp.7.
RECOMMENDATIONSTOTHEGOVERNMENTOFTHEPHILIPPINES:• guaranteetheestablishmentofasafeandenablingenvironmentfortheworkofhumanrightsdefenders,
specificallythroughtheadoptionofalawfortheprotectionandrecognitionofhumanrightsdefenders.• refrainfromcreatingorenforcinglawsorpoliciesthatseektocriminalisethelegitimateactivitiesofhuman
rights defenders, including those advocating foreconomic, social andcultural rightsand rights related tolandandtheenvironment.
• provideasafeandenablingenvironmentformeaningfulcivilsocietyparticipationinthedevelopmentandimplementationofpublicpolicies,inparticularthatguaranteethefree,priorandinformedconsultationofcommunitiesaffectedbyeconomicanddevelopmentprojects.
• combatimpunityforthecrimescommittedagainsthumanrightsdefendersthroughprompt,impartialandtransparentinvestigationsintocrimesagainsthumanrightsdefenders,includinginthecontextofanti-drugpolicies,andthroughensuringeffectiveremedyforvictims.
