Philippines
03.10.00
Urgent Interventions
Philippines: false charges
URGENT ACTION - THE OBSERVATORY
PHL 002 / 0010 / OBS 103
False charges
Philippines
3rd October 2000
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, an FIDH and OMCT venture, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in the Philippines.
Brief description of the situation :
The Observatory has been informed by KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights) and DINTEG (Cordillera Indigenous Peoples Law Center) that the DINTEG and CHRO (Cordillera Human Rights Organization) office was raided for the second time this year on the morning of September 25th 2000. The door to the CHRO room was discovered open at 8:30 a.m with files strewn all over the place. Missing were petty cash worth approx: P1,500.00 (approx. $33) and some diskettes.
The office had previously been broken into by unidentified men on February 7th 2000. In this incident, all files were carted away.
The Observatory believes that this latest incident and that of February 7th 2000 are a direct attack on the work of DINTEG and CHRO in an attempt to prevent them from carrying out their work for the protection of human rights.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities in the Philippines demanding that they:
i. ensure that a full and impartial investigation is carried out into this incident and that DINTEG and CHRO are able to carry out their work as human rights defenders;
ii. ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9 1998 (Declaration concerning the rights and responsibilities of individuals, groups and institutions to promote and protect universally recognised human rights and fundamental liberties ) in particular its Article 1 which states that «Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels» and Article 12.2 which provides that «The State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration.»
iii. guarantee the effective respect of fundamental rights and liberties in accordance with the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international and regional Pacts and Covenants ratified by the Philippines.
Addresses:
His Excellency, Joseph Estrada, President, Republic of the Philippines, Malacanang Palace, Manila, Philippines E-mail: HYPERLINK mailto:erap@ops.gov.ph erap@ops.gov.ph , Fax: (+63) 2 832 3793
Secretary Artemio Toquero, Department of Justice, Padre Faura, Manila, Philippines, Fax: (+63) 2 521 1614
Senator Rene Cayetano, Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, GSIS Bldg., Roxas Blvd. Pasay City, Philippines, Fax: (+63) 2 818 7391
Commissioner Aurora Recina, Commission on Human Rights, SAAC Bldg., U.P. Complex, Commonwealth Ave., 1100 Quezon City, Philippines Fax: (+63) 2 631 6449
Geneva, Paris, 3rd October 2000
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken, quoting the reference number given above.
The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line : Fax : +033 (0) 1 55 80 83 92
Tel : FIDH 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 OMCT +41 22 809 49 39
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch
PHL 002 / 0010 / OBS 103
False charges
Philippines
3rd October 2000
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, an FIDH and OMCT venture, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in the Philippines.
Brief description of the situation :
The Observatory has been informed by KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights) and DINTEG (Cordillera Indigenous Peoples Law Center) that the DINTEG and CHRO (Cordillera Human Rights Organization) office was raided for the second time this year on the morning of September 25th 2000. The door to the CHRO room was discovered open at 8:30 a.m with files strewn all over the place. Missing were petty cash worth approx: P1,500.00 (approx. $33) and some diskettes.
The office had previously been broken into by unidentified men on February 7th 2000. In this incident, all files were carted away.
The Observatory believes that this latest incident and that of February 7th 2000 are a direct attack on the work of DINTEG and CHRO in an attempt to prevent them from carrying out their work for the protection of human rights.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities in the Philippines demanding that they:
i. ensure that a full and impartial investigation is carried out into this incident and that DINTEG and CHRO are able to carry out their work as human rights defenders;
ii. ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9 1998 (Declaration concerning the rights and responsibilities of individuals, groups and institutions to promote and protect universally recognised human rights and fundamental liberties ) in particular its Article 1 which states that «Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels» and Article 12.2 which provides that «The State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration.»
iii. guarantee the effective respect of fundamental rights and liberties in accordance with the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international and regional Pacts and Covenants ratified by the Philippines.
Addresses:
His Excellency, Joseph Estrada, President, Republic of the Philippines, Malacanang Palace, Manila, Philippines E-mail: HYPERLINK mailto:erap@ops.gov.ph erap@ops.gov.ph , Fax: (+63) 2 832 3793
Secretary Artemio Toquero, Department of Justice, Padre Faura, Manila, Philippines, Fax: (+63) 2 521 1614
Senator Rene Cayetano, Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, GSIS Bldg., Roxas Blvd. Pasay City, Philippines, Fax: (+63) 2 818 7391
Commissioner Aurora Recina, Commission on Human Rights, SAAC Bldg., U.P. Complex, Commonwealth Ave., 1100 Quezon City, Philippines Fax: (+63) 2 631 6449
Geneva, Paris, 3rd October 2000
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken, quoting the reference number given above.
The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line : Fax : +033 (0) 1 55 80 83 92
Tel : FIDH 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 OMCT +41 22 809 49 39
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch