Protect human rights defenders

(We yield this space to the statement of the International Service for Human Rights due to its timeliness. – Ed.)

ZARA Alvarez, 39, spent most of her life fighting so that farmers and workers could enjoy their basic rights. A passionate, selfless and dedicated human rights defender and former education director of the human rights organization Karapatan, she died on Aug. 17, 2020 after being shot fatally in Bacolod City. Alvarez is the 13th member of Karapatan to be killed following the election of President Rodrigo Duterte.

We stand in solidarity with our partner Karapatan in deed grief and indignation about human rights defender Zara Alvarez’ extrajudicial killing.

Since President Duterte’s election in May 2016, human rights defenders in the Philippines have been subject to increased violence and killings, the criminal justice system is abused and laws, such as the Anti-Terrorism Law are being used to grant the government excessive and unchecked powers to silence and suppress them. In the prevailing climate of impunity and attacks against human rights defenders, human rights organizations in the country continue to lobby for the passage of a law for the recognition and protection of human rights defenders that, if passed, would constitute a significant development for their protection.

How can it be that courageous people who work to realize our common vision of a better world for all continue to be killed by State and non-State actors in the Philippines?

We urge the government of the Philippines to end the targeting of human rights defenders, whose work is crucial to the safeguarding and protection of human rights in the Philippines. Together with United Nations Special Procedures and over 500 human rights advocates, we strongly condemn these killings and echo the call for an independent investigation mechanism into the human rights situation in the Philippines.

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