Pressure Continues to Stop the Killings in the Philippines

Canada Urged to Impose Strong Measures on the Philippine Government

2008 FEBRUARY 15

Posted at the United Church of Canada website:

www.united-church.ca/en/communications/news/general/080215

For the first time since the political killings in the Philippines started in 2001, the Government of Canada publicly issued a statement in late 2007 expressing deep concern about the killings. The statement was issued by the Hon. Peter MacKay, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, in response to the Petition on the Political Killings in the Philippines that was tabled at the House of Commons on May 31 and June 1 by 12 Members of Parliament from all political parties. United Church members worked hard to get the petition signed by more than 5,000 Canadians. In his response, MacKay said Canada is committed to address the problem and “strengthen governance, the rule of law, and conflict resolution” in the Philippines.

The United Church of Canada and members of the Stop the Killings Network (Canada) welcomed the Minister’s response as a first step in addressing the crisis of extrajudicial killings and carrying out Canada’s responsibility to protect vulnerable people. However, Canada’s programs to strengthen institutions that promote human rights in the Philippines are not adequate to end the killings. Canada’s initiatives do not reduce the immediate threat faced by targeted individuals, do not give these people the immediate protection that they require and are entitled to receive, and do not eliminate the roots of the extrajudicial killings.

In a letter sent to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Maxime Bernier, the United Church and members of the network say that “Canada should not continue providing support to the Government of President Arroyo without demanding tangible proofs of intent and steps to end the killings.”

They urge the Government of Canada to

• impose strong measures on the Government of the Philippines, including the immediate suspension of bilateral assistance, a moratorium on new bilateral projects and funding from Export Development Canada, diplomatic restrictions, and trade and investment sanctions. These will press President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to take specific actions to end the extrajudicial killings including those recommended by the Special Rapporteur.
• review Canada’s relations with the government of the Philippines. Such review would focus on Canada’s economic assistance, cooperation in national security and anti-terrorism programs, and trade and corporate investment, specifically pertaining to mining and other extractive industries, to determine how these contribute to the erosion of human rights.
• invite members of Stop the Killings Network, other civil society organizations, and members of the House of Commons Subcommittee on International Human Rights to a roundtable. This would critically examine the human rights performance of the Philippine government and have input into Canada’s intervention at the U.N. Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review of the Philippines in February 2008.

Mr. Bernier’s response in January 2008 expressed appreciation for Stop the Killings Network’s communication, named some specific meetings that have taken place between Canadian and Philippine officials where human rights concerns have been emphasized, and stated that the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines is working with mining companies to improve quality of life for Aboriginal peoples in the Philippines. He named the Justice Reform Initiatives Support Project as a CIDA-supported initiative that is responding to extra-judicial killings and improving human rights.

Mr. Bernier encourages those concerned to submit input directly to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for consideration in the review of the Philippines by the Human Rights Council in April 2008.

While the killings subsided for a while at the end of 2007, which may have been brought about by growing international pressure on the Philippine government, there was a rise in cases of abductions and detention of Philippine activists. Pastor Berlin Guerrero of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines was abducted in May 2007 and surfaced only after much local and international protest. He remains in prison facing charges of murder he allegedly committed in 1991.

In 2008, extrajudicial killings have risen again. Pastor Filomeno Catambis of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines was assassinated on January 23.

Ongoing information on these cases will be posted on the Web and in United Action for Justice, a United Church e-newsletter. We urge you to respond and to help in obtaining the release of Pastor Guerrero and justice for Pastor Catambis.

For further information about the situation in the Philippines or the Stop the Killings Network, please contact:

Bern Jagunos

Program Coordinator, Asia

The United Church of Canada

Tel: 1-800-268-3781 ext. 4077

Toll-free: 416-231-7680 ext. 4077

E-mail: Bern Jaguno