Category — Events

CHRP is marking two years since the “Maguindanao massacre” with an event supported by Amnesty International UK, UNISON and the International Federation of Journalists, focusing on the killings and the need for judicial reform for prosecuting human rights violations in the Philippines.

On November 23, two years to the day from the 2009 killing of 58 people in Maguindanao, Filipino lawyer and journalist, Carlos Zarate, Stefan Antor, a judge formerly of the European Union-Philippines Justice Support Programme (EPJUST), Jim Boumelha, president of the International Federation of Journalists, and CHRP UK chair Mark Dearn will speak at “Never Forget”, at the Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre, London.

Since the party of 58 people – including 34 journalists – were murdered en route to filing Ismael Mangudadatu’s candidacy for mayoral elections, there have been no successful prosecutions. Former local ruling family the Ampatuans have been put on trial, but the process has been dogged by delays, while many of the 195 accused remain at large.

While the Maguindanao killings highlight the way in which provincial rulers needed by national government – whether to win elections or fight insurgencies – can act with disdain for human life and the rule of law, there remain a number of human rights abuses in which the military is culpable. Human Rights Watch documents seven extrajudicial killings and three enforced disappearances carried out by the military since President Aquino came to power in 2010, with no convictions.

This year also marks the end of the 18-month, E3.9 million, EPJUST project. Implemented to help improve institutional capability around investigating and prosecuting perpetrators of human rights violations, such overseas technical assistance initiatives should be actively encouraged by the government.

By examining the lack of progress in prosecuting the alleged perpetrators and in this and many other cases of human rights violations, CHRP urges the Philippine government to act on its commitment to stopping human rights abuses and help enable the successful prosecution of human rights abusers.

CHRP believes that the 58 killings in Maguindanao in 2009 were an expected outcome of a tacit policy of supporting provincial rulers and granting them immunity from the law – as highlighted by the legacy of killings, torture and abduction that have been documented to have occurred over the course of 20 years at the hands of the Ampatuans.

“The ‘Maguindanao massacre’ was a stark evocation of the culture of impunity around abuses of human rights in the Philippines,” said CHRP chair Mark Dearn. “The lack of progress made in prosecuting the killings is a reminder of the changes needed in the judicial system.

“Being a democracy goes far beyond holding elections. The Aquino government must act on its promises and initiate the reforms long-needed to create the fair and transparent political and legal systems that will best serve the Philippine people.

“President Aquino must bring an end to the culture of impunity around human rights violations that persists in the Philippines since his election. Perpetrators of such violations must be brought to justice, and the government must work hand-in-hand with the military, police, civil society and the legal establishment to this end.”

Links for more info:
http://www.nuj.org.uk/innerPagenuj.html?docid=2302
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=177256159025114

Here are some of the photos of CHRP giving a short lecture about the Human Rights situation in the Philippines and the work of the Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines - UK at the Human Rights Festival at Kingston University last March.

Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

17 February 2011 at 6-8pm

Eva-Lotta Hedman* will be at the AGM as a resource person in the informal discussion on the current development in the Philippines and a view of the Philippine government under President B. Aquino Jr.

Venue:

Room B104

Brunell bldg., SOAS

Thornhaugh street

London WC1H

Near Russell Square station

*Eva Lotta Hedman is a research fellow at London School of Economics – IDEAS and Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford University, Refugee Studies Centre.

FREE Refreshments/drinks!!! Contact: info@chrp.org.uk

Photos by RJ Fernandez

Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines and Kanlungan (the Alliance of Filipino Organisations) will be showing “Dukot” (Desaparecidos), a film tackling the issue of enforced disappearances in the Philippines, on 4th December 2010, at Praxis Hall, Pott Street, Bethnal Green London E2 0EF (map)

Tickets are at 10GBP, inclusive of film, dinner and dance (after the filmshow).

For enquiries please contact Kanlungan and/or CHRP.

To know more about the film and the show, click on the picture.

Click on the leaflet for full size and to download.

For a list of activities of this event click here:

London, June 2010

UK Filipinos mobilized inside one of Britain’s largest and most powerful trade unions last week, succeeding in getting its support for trade union rights in the Philippines and hosting a packed fringe meeting.

At the UNISON conference in Bournemouth held from June 14 – 18, Filipino workers for the first time addressed the more than 2,000 delegates, condemning the appalling human rights abuses suffered by workers in the Philippines and urging delegates to sign Motion 101.

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