International Human Rights Day, 10th December 2017
“Here in the Philippines, acting
on instructions, instigations and incitements from no less than the
President, the police and vigilantes have killed more than ten
thousands of alleged drug offenders in a spate of extrajudicial
killings (EJKs) under the so-called war on drugs, which is actually a
war against our people, especially the poor.
In
the face of these mass atrocities, governments and inter-government
bodies appear to be either ineffective, inadequate or simply passive.
In the Philippine situation, the International Criminal Court (ICC),
through its prosecutor, has yet to decide whether there is basis to
proceed to a preliminary examination of the cases. At the UN, we have
yet to see concrete measures coming from the Security Council, the
Human Rights Council, or the General Assembly, beyond what happened
last September during the Universal Periodic Review of the Philippine
human rights record with the joint statement of concern from 40
states led by Iceland, and similar language spoken by the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights. Domestically, the President and his
Foreign Affairs Secretary have been consistently blocking the
proposal to invite the UN Special Rapporteur for extrajudicial
killings to do a country visit. Worse, there are no serious
investigations and prosecutions being done on the killings.
Meanwhile, with
the return of the police to the drug war, Duterte is boasting that
there will be an increase in the body count.
The killings
must stop. But, how? We
call on governments all over the world to make good their commitments
to actualize the promise under Section 28 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone is
entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and
freedoms …can be fully realized”
In
the Philippine situation, in particular, we urge that:
a. The General
Assembly to pass a resolution condemning the extrajudicial killings,
urging its immediate stoppage, and recommending the prompt and
effective investigation and prosecution of perpetrators and
masterminds;
b. The Human
Rights Council to establish an independent international commission
of inquiry or an investigative commission to ferret out the truth and
identify accountabilities for the mass murders;
c. The
International Criminal Court, through the Prosecutor, to commence the
preliminary examination of the cases of EJKs; and
d.
The Philippine government to finally extend the invitation to the UN
Special Rapporteur on summary and extralegal executions.
More than the government actions,
however, and in light also of the growing absence of human rights
leadership in this highly troubled world, there is an urgency now for
international solidarity and mobilization of public support to
uphold, defend and protect human rights. We cannot remain silent and
depend passively on governments. We the people ourselves have to act
– act with urgency and in solidarity with each other. With
political leaders themselves demonizing their own people, and even
instigating the widespread attacks against them, the need for all of
us to stand up for the basic values of human dignity and equality of
everyone everywhere has now become extremely urgent. “
