The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in the Philippines.
Brief description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the extra-judicial killing of Mr. Armando Dolorosa, Vice President of the National Federation of Sugarcane Workers (NFSW) and the leader of an agrarian reform group in Manapla, Negros Occidental.
According to the information received, on June 6, 2008, Mr. Armando Dolorosa was shot dead in his house by three masked men in the presence of his wife and 11 year-old son. He reportedly sustained 23 gunshot wounds. According to his relatives, there are strong reasons to believe that his killing is related to the implementation of the agrarian reform program: in 2007, Mr. Dolorosa and 36 other agrarian reform beneficiaries were granted certificates of land ownership by the Department of Agrarian Reform, and were therefore given a portion of a sugar estate. Since then, Mr. Dolorosa had been receiving death threats from persons his wife described as "planters". He is the third local NFSW leader to be killed in Manapla since 2003.
The Observatory expresses its deep concern over the killing of Mr. Armando Dolorosa which is further evidence of the ongoing attacks against human rights defenders perpetrated by both state and non-state actors in the Philippines, and recalls that the Philippines has been elected as a member of the Human Rights Council until 2010 and has, in this regard, committed to "uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights"[1]. Accordingly, the Observatory urges the Philippines to comply with Article 12.2 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, which states that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration".
Actions required:
Please write to the authorities of the Philippines urging them to:
i. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all human rights defenders in the Philippines;
ii. Conduct a fair and impartial investigation into the assassination of Mr. Armando Dolorosa in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by the law;
iii. Guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to his relatives;
iv. End all forms of harassment and ill-treatment of human rights defenders in the Philippines, and guarantee in all circumstances that they be able to carry out their work without any hindrance;
v. Conform with all the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, especially its Article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels" and above-mentioned Article 12.2;
vi. More generally, ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by the Philippines.
Addresses:
– H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Republic, New Executive Building, Malacanang Palace, JP Laurel St., San Miguel, Manila 1005, Philippines ; Tel: +632 564 1451 to 80 ; Fax: +632 736-1010 / 742-1641 / 929-3968; Cell#: (+ 63) 919 898 4622 / (+63) 917 839 8462; E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph / opnet@ops.gov.ph / kgma@yahoogroups.com;
– Mr. José de Venecia Jr., Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rm. MB-2, House of Representatives, Constitution Hills, Quezon City, Philippines; Tel: +632.9315001;
– Hon. Purificacion Valera Quisumbing, Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights, SAAC Building, Commonwealth Avenue, U.P. Complex, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines; Tel: + 632 928 5655; Fax: 632 929 01 02; drpvq@yahoo.com
– Mr. Raul Gonzales, Minister of Justice, Department of Justice, Building Padre Faura, 1004 Manila, Philippines; Tel: +63 (2) 523-8481; Fax: +63 (2) 521-1614; Email: sechbp@info.com.ph
– Director General Oscar Calderon, Chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Camp General Rafael Crame, Quezon City, Philippines; Tel: +632 726-4361/4366/8763; Fax: +632 724-8763; Email: bluetree73@gmail.com
– Ambassador Enrique A. Manalo, Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the United Nations in Geneva, 47 Avenue Blanc, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 716 19 32, Email: mission.philippines@ties.itu.int
– Embassy of the Philippines in Brussels, 297 Avenue Moliere, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, Tel: +32 2 340 33 77 / 2 340 33 78, Fax: +32 2 345 64 25.
Please also write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of the Philippines in your respective country.
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Paris - Geneva, June 11, 2008
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
[1] See OP9 of UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/60/251.