MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation in the Philippines, including the case of Maria Ressa

15.9.2020 - (2020/2782(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure

Michael Gahler, Isabel Wiseler‑Lima, Željana Zovko, David McAllister, Sandra Kalniete, Krzysztof Hetman, Eva Maydell, Jiří Pospíšil, Luděk Niedermayer, Janina Ochojska, David Lega, Stelios Kympouropoulos, Benoît Lutgen, Stanislav Polčák, Antonio López‑Istúriz White, Peter Pollák, Michal Wiezik, Vladimír Bilčík, Inese Vaidere, Michaela Šojdrová, Magdalena Adamowicz, Ivan Štefanec, Romana Tomc, Loránt Vincze, Maria Walsh, Loucas Fourlas, Lefteris Christoforou
on behalf of the PPE Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0290/2020

B9‑0295/2020

European Parliament resolution on the situation in the Philippines, including the case of Maria Ressa

(2020/2782(RSP))

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in the Philippines, in particular those of 15 September 2016[1], of 16 March 2017[2] and of 19 April 2018 (TA-8-2018-0175),

- having regard to the diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the EU (at the time the European Economic Community (EEC)) established on 12 May 1964 with the appointment of the Philippines Ambassador to the EEC,

- having regard to the status of the Philippines as a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) following the signing of the Bangkok Declaration on 8 August 1967,

- having regard to the International Covenant om Civil and Political Rights, which, in its Article 19, enshrines the right to freedom of expression

- having regard to the Framework Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation between the European Union (EU) and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of the Philippines, of the other part,

- having regard to the outcome of the ASEAN-EU commemorative summit on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN-EU dialogue relations, and to the ASEAN-EU Plan of Action (2018-2022),

- having regard to the Statement by the EEAS Spokesperson of 16 June 2020 on the conviction of Maria Ressa and Reynaldo Santos,

- having regard to the statement by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, of 30 June 2020, that at least 248 human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists and trade unionists were killed between 2015 and 2019,

- having regard to a letter to President Duterte by several members from six different political Groups in the European Parliaments Media Working Group of 7 July 2020 to trop all charges against Maria Ressa and Reynaldo Santos,

- having regard to the EU guidelines on human rights,

- having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,

- having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) of 1966,

- having regard to Rule 144 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the Philippines and the EU have longstanding diplomatic, economic, cultural and political relations; whereas through ratification of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, the European Union and the Philippines have reaffirmed their joint commitment to the principles of good governance, democracy, the rule of law, human rights, the promotion of social and economic development, and to peace and security in the region;

B. whereas since 1 July 2016, thousands of people, including women and children, have, reportedly, been killed in the Philippines during an ongoing campaign against drugs, internationally proclaimed as President Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’; whereas President Duterte has vowed to continue his anti-drug campaign until the end of his presidential term in 2022; whereas the EU remains deeply concerned about the high number of killings associated with the campaign against illegal drugs in the Philippines;

C. whereas Maria Ressa, editor of Rappler news website, and Reynaldo Santos, a former researcher at the outlet, have been convicted on 15 June 2020 of cyber libel by the Manila Regional Trail Court;

D. whereas the case against Maria Ressa and Reynaldo Santos was in relation to a May 2012 Rappler report was pursued retrospectively under the 2012 Cybercrime Prevention Act, a libel law enacted four month later in September 2012;

E. whereas Zara Alvarez, a human rights activist and member of the alliance of human rights advocates (Karapatan), was shot dead on 17 August 2020, and Randall Echanis, a land rights activist and member of Karapatan, who was tortured and killed in August 2020;

F. whereas Senator Leila De Lima, a human rights activist and the highest-profile critic of Philippine President Duterte’s anti-drugs campaign, called on June 30, 2020, to establish an independent international investigation into human rights violations in the Philippines and to expedite the proceedings in the ICC;

G. whereas the Government of the Philippines is considering bills to reinstate the death penalty; whereas reintroduction of the death penalty would be in clear violation of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which the Philippines is party as of 2007;

H. whereas there is an increasingly shrinking space for civil society; whereas human rights defenders are reportedly facing an increasingly hostile environment in the Philippines;

I. whereas human rights defenders, journalists and activists routinely face threats, harassment, intimidation and violence for seeking to expose allegations of extra-judicial killings and other human rights abuses in the Philippines;

J. whereas the Philippines is a beneficiary of the European Union’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+);

K. whereas the EU-Philippines Partnership and Cooperation Agreement calls for the establishment of a meaningful human rights dialogue in the form of a Working Group on Human Rights.

1.  Calls on the Philippine authorities to drop all charges against Maria Ressa and Reynaldo Santos, not to oppose the appeal of her conviction in the cyber libel case, and guarantee a free and independent press in the country;

2.  Recalls that freedom of expression and freedom of opinion, online and offline, are essential parts of any democracy worldwide;

3. Expects that the Philippines, as party of the International Convent on Civil and Political Rights, like all countries, to uphold its international human rights obligations and protect and promote fundamental freedoms;

4. Calls on the Philippine authorities to immediately investigate the murders of Zara Alvarez and Randall Echains;

5. Condemns all threats, harassment, intimidation and violence against those seeking to expose allegations of extra-judicial killings and other human rights abuses in the Philippines, including human rights defenders, journalists and activists; urges the Government of the Philippines to ensure that human rights defenders, journalists and activists can carry out their work in an enabling environment and without fear of reprisals;

6. Calls on the Government of the Philippines to put an immediate end to the extrajudicial killings in the pretext of a ‘war on drugs’; strongly condemns the high number of extrajudicial killings by the armed forces and vigilante groups related to the anti-drug campaign; expresses its condolences to the families of the victims; expresses grave concern over credible reports to the effect that the Philippine police force is falsifying evidence to justify extrajudicial killings, and that it is overwhelmingly the urban poor who are being targeted;

7. Invites the authorities to cooperate fully with the UN Special Procedures; calls on the authorities of the Philippines to immediately carry out impartial and meaningful investigations into these extrajudicial killings and to prosecute and bring all perpetrators to justice; calls for the EU and all its Member States to support a United Nations-led investigation into the killings in the Philippines and for those accountable to be brought to justice;

8. Calls on the Philippine authorities to remove human rights defenders from the terrorist list, dropping all charges and allowing them to carry out their activities in peace;

9. Welcomes the initiative of the ICC to inquire into the allegations of crimes against humanity in the context of the killings during the ‘war on drugs’; calls on the Government of the Philippines to cooperate fully with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in its preliminary examination of the Philippines; strongly regrets the decision of the Government of the Philippines to initiate its withdrawal from the Rome Statute; calls on the Government to reverse this decision;

10. Reiterates its deep concern about the considerations to reintroduce the death penalty; calls again on the authorities of the Philippines to immediately halt ongoing proceedings to reinstate the death penalty; recalls that the EU considers capital punishment to be a cruel and inhuman punishment which fails to act as a deterrent to criminal behaviour; calls on the Government of the Philippines to refrain from lowering the minimum age for criminal responsibility;

11. Urges the Philippines to observe its obligations under international law to protect the human rights of indigenous peoples, including in the context of armed conflict;

12. Condemns all forms of violence against women and recalls that such violence constitutes a serious violation of the human rights and dignity of women and girls; strongly condemns President Duterte’s demeaning and misogynist statements about women fighters; reminds the President that encouraging state forces to commit sexual violence during armed conflict is in violation of international humanitarian law; calls on the President to treat women with respect and to refrain from inciting violence against women;

13. Reminds the authorities of the Philippines of their obligations under international law, the GSP+ scheme and the PCA, notably with regard to human rights, and of the consequences of failure to comply; stresses that, while the progress in the implementation of the GSP+ conventions is largely positive, strong concerns remain around human rights violations related to the war on drugs; recalls, in this respect, its previous resolution on the Philippines of 16 March 2017, and calls on the Commission and the External Action Service to use all available instruments, including the PCA, to persuade the Philippines to put an end to extrajudicial killings related to the anti-drug campaign and, in the absence of substantive improvements, to initiate the procedural steps which could lead to the temporary withdrawal of the GSP+ preferences; urges the EU to use all available instruments to assist the Government of the Philippines in respecting its international human rights obligations;

14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments of the Member States, the President, the Government and Parliament of the Philippines, the governments of the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),

 

• [1] Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0349.
• [2] Texts adopted, P8_TA(2017)0088.