Two weeks in Mindanao: Two farmers shot, four teachers abducted, five students tortured and a family assaulted

“Two dead, four missing, a family assaulted and five minors tortured by government forces in Mindanao – all in a span of two weeks! This is the real face of martial law, the reality that the Duterte regime is desperately trying to whitewash. The government, however, is still eyeing the extension of military rule in … Continue reading Two weeks in Mindanao: Two farmers shot, four teachers abducted, five students tortured and a family assaulted

Tanggol Bayi: ‘Palit-puri’ and other such schemes prove uniformed men the foremost violator of women’s rights

Tanggol Bayi, an association of women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in the Philippines, strongly condemns the succession of violence against women by State forces amid the implementation of the Duterte government’s anti-people policies, foremost the war on drugs and counterinsurgency program Oplan Kapayapaan. The drug war did not only spin a series of brutal killings … Continue reading Tanggol Bayi: ‘Palit-puri’ and other such schemes prove uniformed men the foremost violator of women’s rights

PRESS RELEASE: The UK Government cannot turn a blind eye to human rights violations in the Philippines, MPs told

LONDON - “The UK government must do more to pressure the Duterte government to end the huge wave of extra-judicial killings in the Philippines unleashed in its so-called war on drugs, and to bring to an end martial law in the province of Mindanao” according to Cristina Palabay, Secretary General of Karapatan, an eminent human rights … Continue reading PRESS RELEASE: The UK Government cannot turn a blind eye to human rights violations in the Philippines, MPs told

Attacks vs activists escalate as 9 are arrested, 2 declared missing in the past week

“Karapatan condemns the worsening spate of attacks against activists and rights defenders, perpetrated by the Duterte regime and its security forces. Just this week, nine activists were illegally arrested in separate incidents in Laguna and Nueva Ecija, while two others were also declared missing. The spike in attacks are a compounded result of the government’s … Continue reading Attacks vs activists escalate as 9 are arrested, 2 declared missing in the past week

The Situation of Human Rights Defenders in the Philippines

My name is Inga Jäkel, I want to share my experiences in the Philippines. Between January - December 2014, I lived and worked in various areas of the “Country with the 7.107 islands”. I was there with a German NGO called IPON (International Peace Observer Network) that cooperates with Human Rights Defenders (HRD), such as Human Rights organizations and individual persons in the Philippines. The main field of work is to show presence as an international observer, to accompany HRDs, to observe and to inform the public. We have two teams in the Philippines, situated in Mindanao, Malaybalay and Negros Island, Bacolod. Both teams work with different HRDs, however the situation the HRDs are facing is virtually identical in most cases.