MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the recent human rights developments in the Philippines
15.2.2022 - (2022/2540(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure
Hannah Neumann, Ernest Urtasun, Bronis Ropė, Ignazio Corrao, Francisco Guerreiro, Eleonora Evi, Jordi Solé, Heidi Hautala, Alviina Alametsä
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0097/2022
B9‑0098/2022
European Parliament resolution on the recent human rights developments in the Philippines
The European Parliament,
having regard to its previous resolutions on the Philippines, in particular that of 17 September 2020;
- having regard to the Framework Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of the Philippines, of the other part,
- having regard to the statements by the Spokesperson of the High Representative of 16 June 2020 on the conviction of Maria Ressa and Reynaldo Santos Jr;, and on the Philippines and the International Criminal Court of 16th March 2018,
- having regard to the joint staff working document on the EU Special Incentive Arrangement for Sustainable Development and Good Governance (GSP+) assessment of the Philippines covering the period 2018-2019, of 10 February 2020,
- having regard to the EU Common Position on Arms Exports, particularly criterion two on the respect for human rights and international humanitarian law by the recipient country;
- having regard to the EU Guidelines on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law,
- having regard to UN Security Council Resolution 2467 on conflict-related sexual violence,
- having regard to the Resolutions adopted by the UN Human Rights Council on the Promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines of 11 July 2019 and the one on technical cooperation and capacity-building for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines of 7 October 2020;
- having regard to the Report of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the human rights situation in the Philippines of 29 June 2020,
- having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Additional Protocol to which the Philippines is a signatory
- having regard to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,
- having regard to the Human Rights Defenders Protection Act adopted in June 2019 and the Human Rights Defenders Act in January 2022 by the House of Representatives of the Philippines,
- 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 the space for civil society and non-governmental organizations has been shrinking significantly since the election of President Dutertre in June 2016; whereas President Duterte has made statements encouraging violence and police attacks against human rights groups; whereas his government’s emphasis on national security, intelligence-gathering and “red-tagging” - the labelling of individuals or groups as terrorists or communists - has alarmingly undermined legitimate and peaceful work of civil society organizations;
C. whereas since 1 July 2016, more than 12 000 people, including women and children, have reportedly been killed during an ongoing campaign against drugs, proclaimed as President Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’; whereas President Duterte has vowed to continue his anti-drug campaign “war-on-drugs” until the end of his presidential term in 2022; whereas Senator Leila de Lima, a human rights activist and a high-profile critic of President Duterte’s anti-drugs campaign, was removed from her position as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights on 19 September 2016 and has been imprisoned since 24 February 2017;
D. 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 country; whereas since January 2015 at least 208 human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists, including 30 women have been killed and the government has failed to ensure impartial, transparent, independent, effective investigations and prosecutions in the vast majority of cases;
E. whereas the Philippines authorities adopted a new Anti-Terrorism Act on 3 July 2020, which remains deeply flawed and open to gross abuse by the authorities despite a Supreme Court ruling, which struck down several problematic provisions;
F. whereas the House of Representative has adopted unanimously the Human Rights Defenders Act in January 2022; whereas the Senate needs to adopt its corresponding Act in order to advance in the enactment of a comprehensive Human Rights Defenders law, in accordance with international human rights standards;
G. whereas the Philippines dropped from rank 136 to 138 out of 180 countries on the latest World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF); whereas media freedom in the Philippines has been particularly affected by President Duterte’s campaign against drugs; whereas the national TV station ABS-CBN, one of the Philippines' largest broadcasters, has been shut down by the authorities as a result of the channel’s criticism of the Duterte administration;
H. whereas in the light of the upcoming elections May 2022, there are reports of increasing smear, hate and disinformation campaigns and so-called “troll armies” are endemic to Philippine cyberspace; whereas social media is the main source of information in the Philippines, whereas such attacks especially target women and minority groups, whereas Twitter has just recently deleted more than 300 accounts for violating spamming and manipulation rules, allegedly linked to the camp of presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr.; whereas the Philippine Parliament, in an attempt to fight online abuse, passed a law requiring social media users to register their legal identities when creating new accounts; whereas there are justified concerns that this law can be abused by the government to attack journalists and civil society; whereas the Philippine authorities have not invited the EU to conduct an election observation mission;
I. whereas Maria Ressa, a Filipino-American journalist and co-founder and CEO of the news website “Rappler” has long been targeted for her criticism of the government’s “war on drugs” and Rappler’s critical reporting on the extrajudicial killings carried out by the government; whereas, related to her exposure of human rights violations, corruption and abuse of power, she currently faces up to 60 years in prison if found guilty; whereas Maria Ressa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for her “efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace”;
J. whereas in a 2018 global analysis the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples identified the Philippines as a country among those with the highest incidence worldwide in terms of criminalization and attacks against indigenous human rights defenders; whereas the killings of human rights defenders Jory Porquia in April, Randall “Randy” Echanis and Zara Alvarez in August 2020 remain unsolved; whereas civil society actors and actors close to the NGO KARAPATAN have particularly become under pressure and have become a target for the government;
K. whereas the UN has warned about the militarisation in indigenous territories and restrictions on the freedom of assembly and expression are increasing and closely aligned to business interests; whereas the persistent lack of security and economic development on the island of Mindanao as well as the reported violations of international humanitarian law and the lack of progress in transitional justice and reconciliation remain of serious concerns;
L. whereas the targeting of land and environmental rights defenders is a serious concern as they feature prominently among the documented killings of human rights defenders; whereas indigenous human rights and environmental defenders who oppose the expansion of private land ownership are being increasingly threatened, criminalized and accused of belonging to left-wing guerrilla groups, and therefore labelled as terrorists, so called “red-tagged”; whereas Elena Tijamo, a human rights defender working on sustainable agriculture, had been a victim of enforced disappearance for over 13 months after having been “red-tagged” by the regime, before she was reappeared dead on August 30, 2021;
M. whereas the work of Human Rights Defenders, activists and NGOs is notoriously hampered by Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation, so-called SLAPP; whereas the Philippines has rules defining what SLAPPs are and clearly prohibiting them, although applicable per definition only in environmental-related cases;
N. whereas President Duterte has made a number of derogatory and demeaning statements about women and has repeatedly justified rape; whereas women human rights defenders face degrading and sexually charged comments, rape threats and attacks; whereas female politicians are particularly subjected to misogynistic comments; whereas the Philippines failed in 2019 to pass pending legislation prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, education, health care, housing, and other domains;
O. whereas several studies have shown that the campaign against illegal drugs have strongly affected women and children causing psycho-social trauma and economic hardships, as well as further human rights violations; whereas at least 73 children were killed by stray bullets in the context of the campaign against illegal drugs; whereas grave violations against children committed by State and non-State actors in the context of military operations, including the recruitment and use of children in combat or support, remain of serious concern;
P. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the deterioration of the human rights situation in the Philippines; particularly with regards to freedom of expression, media integrity and predictable enforcement and grave repercussions on the capacity of the media and civil society to document such transgressions; whereas the most vulnerable communities in urban areas have been strongly affected by the police and the military’s use of violence to enforce quarantine;
Q. whereas Typhoon Rai/ Odette has struck the Philippines in December 2021 further aggravating the already fragile situation, with some 1.7 million houses, 16,000 schools, and 330 health clinics damaged or destroyed, over 10 million hectares of crops impacted, and 80 municipalities still experiencing power outages or disruptions, thus affecting more than nine million people overall, among them over 217,000 people still displaced, with women and children being especially vulnerable to gender-based violence and sexual exploitation in the aftermath of sudden-onset disasters;
R. whereas since 25 December 2014 the Philippines has enjoyed enhanced trade preferences under the EU´s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP+), whereas this status is dependent upon its ratification and implementation of international conventions on human and labour rights, environmental protection, and good governance ; whereas in 2020, 26% of total Philippine exports to the EU (1.6 billion euros) enjoyed the preferential treatment under this scheme;
1. Deplores the spiralling downward trend of the human rights situation in the Philippines under President Duterte, and calls for a robust response from the EU;
2. Denounces the shocking number of extrajudicial killings by the armed forces and vigilante groups and the context of near-total impunity under President Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’; observes that the overwhelming majority of the victims of such abusive policies rank among the poor and marginalized communities; stresses that the Philippine authorities must pursue their fight against illicit drugs through non-violent means and with a focus on public health and in full compliance with due process, in line with national and international law;
3. Condemns all threats, harassment, intimidation and violence against those seeking to expose allegations of extra-judicial killings and other human rights abuses in the country; denounces the government officials’ practice of “red-tagging” activists, journalists, and critics, exposing them to potential harm; 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; welcomes the unanimous adoption of the Human Rights Defenders Act in the House of Representatives in January 2022 on its final reading and calls on the Senate to expedite the adoption of its corresponding Human Rights Defenders Act in order to advance in the enactment of a comprehensive Human Rights Defenders law, in accordance with international human rights standards;
4. Calls on the authorities of the Philippines to immediately carry out impartial, transparent, independent and meaningful investigations into all extrajudicial killings, including the ones of Jory Porquia , Randall “Randy” Echanis, Zara Alvarez as well as into the enforced disappearance and death of Elena Tijamo, and into alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, with a view to prosecute the perpetrators; calls on the authorities of the Philippines to ensure investigations and prosecutions of all senior police and politicians where there is reasonable suspicion that they have direct and/or command or superior responsibility for the crimes under international law and other serious violations and abuses of human rights;
5. Reiterates its call on the authorities of the Philippines to end the political harassment of Senator Leila de Lima, to order her immediate and unconditional release and to prosecute in fair trials those found to be responsible for her arbitrary detention and other human rights violations committed against her, such as gender-based attacks and violations to her right to due process; calls for the EU to continue to closely monitor the case against Senator De Lima;
6. Is alarmed about the deteriorating level of press freedom in the Philippines; condemns all threats, harassment, intimidation, unfair prosecutions, and violence against journalists, including the case of Maria Ressa and Reynaldo Santos Jr; calls for the release of journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio; calls for all politically motivated charges against those journalists and their colleagues to be dropped immediately against; calls on the EU Delegation and EU Member States’ representations in Manila to closely monitor such cases against Maria Ressa, Reynaldo Santos Jr. and Frenchie Mae Cumpio and to provide all necessary assistance; calls on the Philippine authorities to renew the broadcast licence of the main audio-visual group, ABS-CBN;
7. Fears that during the upcoming election and campaign period political rights in the on- and offline world will be further violated and restricted; calls on all contenders to refrain from using disinformation campaigns and troll armies, and to commit to fair and fact-based campaigning, thus preventing a further division of Philippine society and politics; calls on Philippine authorities to closely cooperate with the social media companies to prevent manipulation, spam and all other attempts undermining the public discourse; calls on the Philippines authorities to increase efforts to ensure fair and free elections and a non-toxic environment for on- and offline campaigning; in this context, regrets that the Philippine authorities have not invited the EU to conduct an election observation mission;
8. Calls on EU delegation and EU member states’ representations to give their full support to independent local election observers, to regularly meet with them and to closely follow-up on any reported incidents coming up during the election campaign, including by addressing the concerns directly with the Philippine authorities; calls on the EU delegation and EU member states’ representations and their staff to participate themselves as far as possible in national/ local election observation missions in the Philippines;
9. Recalls its strong support to all human rights and environmental defenders in the Philippines and their work; calls on the EU delegation and member states’ representations in the country to prioritize support to civil society and to use all available instruments to increase their support for human rights and environmental defenders’ work, including by ensuring them visibility through social media channels as a way to acknowledge their crucial role and, where appropriate, to help enable the issuing of emergency visas and facilitate temporary shelter in the EU Member States;
10. Denounces the threats, intimidation and personal attacks directed against UN special procedure mandate holders; urges the authorities of the Philippines to cooperate with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and all UN human rights mechanisms, including by facilitating country visits and refraining from acts of intimidation or retaliation;
11. Regrets that the joint UN capacity-building and technical assistance programme established under a 2020 UNHRC resolution has failed to advance justice and protect human rights and is instead continuing impunity; calls therefore to launch an international investigation and establish an international accountability mechanism given the absence of clear and measurable progress at the domestic level;
12. Calls on the Philippine government to fully cooperate with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in its investigation into the situation on the Philippines and revert the country’s withdrawal as a signatory to the Rome Statute;
13. Calls on the International Criminal Court to reinforce its investigations with a view to ensuring accountability and reparations for the victims and their families of the extrajudicial killings and other grave human rights violations, and to urgently improve its own instruments to guarantee the security of witnesses and mediators;
14. Reiterates its deep concern about ongoing proceedings to reintroduce the death penalty, which would destroy a remarkable achievement of the Philippine justice system; calls again on the Philippine institutions to immediately halt any such proceedings;
15. Strongly condemns President Duterte’s demeaning and misogynist statements about women; reminds the President that encouraging state forces to commit sexual violence during armed conflict is in violation of international humanitarian law and human rights, notably UNSCR 2467; calls on the President to respect women’s rights under international human rights treaties and to refrain from inciting violence against women;
16. Condemns all forms of violence against LGBTQI people, and recalls that such violence constitutes a serious violation of the human rights and dignity of a person; strongly condemns President Duterte’s demeaning and sexist statements about people who identify as belonging to the LGBTQI community
17. Expresses dismay at the failure of the European Commission to draw the necessary conclusions from its assessment of the human rights situation in the country and the notable shortcomings of the Philippines in meeting its commitments under the GSP+ scheme; urges the Commission to immediately initiate the procedural steps which should lead to the temporary withdrawal of the GSP+ preferences;
18. Calls on the Philippines authorities to support the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and to ensure effective human rights due diligence processes for investment, development and business projects, especially with regard to large scale agri-business acquisitions, extractive industries, infrastructure projects and cooperation involving the security sector; calls on companies based in or operating within the EU to strictly comply with the UNGPs and both international and national human rights law, as well as to conduct a meticulous and comprehensive due diligence process in relation to all their business operations and relationships within the country, ensuring effective, meaningful and informed consultations at all stages of the process with both affected and potentially affected stakeholders, including but not limited to communities, human rights defenders, indigenous people, workers, trade unions, civil society and women’s organizations;
19. Calls on the Philippine authorities to refrain from using the COVID-19 outbreak as a tool to bolster and pursue extra-judicial killings and any form of harassment, violence, intimidation and threat, in particular towards the press and civil society as a whole;
20. Is concerned about a possible long-lasting impact of super typhoon Rai/Odette, which has hit a country already in a deep crisis, including its poorest provinces, thus further deteriorating the already fragile economic, social, health and political situation; welcomes the EU’s und member states’ provision of more than 15.9 million of humanitarian assistance while highlighting the need to ensure sufficient funding for disaster risk reduction and resilience-building initiatives in the country;
21. Urges the Philippines to fully implement the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act and observe its obligations under international law to protect the human rights of indigenous peoples, including in the context of armed conflict; in particular, calls on the Philippines to ensure full respect for the principle of free, prior, informed consent and the meaningful participation of affected indigenous communities at all stages;
22. Is appalled by the practice of trafficking, military recruitment and involvement of children in conflicts by paramilitary groups in the country, and urges all parties involved to stop such practices; encourages the Government to increase its efforts to protect all children from abuse, and to uphold their rights, including the right to education of indigenous children; strongly opposes any proposal to further lower the age of criminal responsibility;
23. Calls on EU Member States to refrain from all exports of arms, surveillance technology and other equipment to the Philippine authorities that can be used for internal repression; calls on Member States to refrain from providing the Philippines with any security and military equipment which facilitates attacksanti on human rights defenders and civil society activists, including on media, and would be non-compliant with criterion two of the legally binding EU Common Position on Arms Exports;
24. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the President, the Government and Parliament of the Philippines, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the parliaments and governments of the Member States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the governments of the ASEAN Member States.