-int’l rights groups, individuals from various countries
International human rights and women’s rights groups today threw their support for the call of Philippine human rights groups to stop the execution of Filipina human trafficking victim Mary Jane Veloso in Indonesia. 
“We, human rights advocates, women human rights defenders and concerned people of different nations, add our voices to the urgent appeal of the Filipino people and the rest of the world calling on Indonesian President Jokowi Widodo to stop the execution of Mary Jane Veloso,” they said in an urgent appeal circulated by human rights groups Karapatan and Tanggol Bayi sent to Indonesian President Jokowi Widodo.
The signatories of the said statement are Puspa Dewy, Komnas Perempuan (Indonesia); Russell Fraser, Chairperson, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers (United Kingdom); Michael Goold, Vice Chairperson, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers (United Kingdom); Lydia Alpizar, Executive Director, Association of Women in Development (Global); Daniela Fonkatz, Women Human Rights Defenders Programme, AWID (Global); Danilo Reyes, Deputy Director, Asian Human Rights Commission (Asia); Budi Tjahjono, Asia-Pacific Advocacy Officer, Franciscans International (Global); Yoshio Nakamura, Asia Wide Campaign (Japan); Azadeh N. Shahshahani, President, National Lawyers Guild (USA); and Dr. Paul Bloom PhD and Dr. Tim McGloin PhD, Co-coordinators, Ecumenical Advocacy Network on the Philippines (USA)
-int’l rights groups, individuals from various countries
International human rights and women’s rights groups today threw their support for the call of Philippine human rights groups to stop the execution of Filipina human trafficking victim Mary Jane Veloso in Indonesia.
“We, human rights advocates, women human rights defenders and concerned people of different nations, add our voices to the urgent appeal of the Filipino people and the rest of the world calling on Indonesian President Jokowi Widodo to stop the execution of Mary Jane Veloso,” they said in an urgent appeal circulated by human rights groups Karapatan and Tanggol Bayi sent to Indonesian President Jokowi Widodo.
The signatories of the said statement are Puspa Dewy, Komnas Perempuan (Indonesia); Russell Fraser, Chairperson, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers (United Kingdom); Michael Goold, Vice Chairperson, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers (United Kingdom); Lydia Alpizar, Executive Director, Association of Women in Development (Global); Daniela Fonkatz, Women Human Rights Defenders Programme, AWID (Global); Danilo Reyes, Deputy Director, Asian Human Rights Commission (Asia); Budi Tjahjono, Asia-Pacific Advocacy Officer, Franciscans International (Global); Yoshio Nakamura, Asia Wide Campaign (Japan); Azadeh N. Shahshahani, President, National Lawyers Guild (USA); and Dr. Paul Bloom PhD and Dr. Tim McGloin PhD, Co-coordinators, Ecumenical Advocacy Network on the Philippines (USA)
The following individuals also circulated the call among human rights advocates: Linda Aguilar, Executive Director, Human Rights Matter (Germany); Martha Benavides, one of the nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize (El Salvador); and Hedwig Johl, Main NGO Rep. in UN Geneva, Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd. International organizations such as the Amnesty International (Germany), Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (Asia and the Pacific), and the International Committee on Jurists also released respective statements calling on the Indonesian government to halt the executions.
“We stand with the Filipino people and the rest of the world as one voice to save Mary Jane Veloso from death row. She is a victim of human trafficking. She was betrayed, neglected by the Philippine government and from then on, suffered grave injustice and violations to her rights,” their appeal stated.
The groups also said “We join our voices with the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon who have appealed to the government of Indonesia to refrain from carrying out the execution. We share the thoughts of Jose Ramos-Horta[i], former Timor Leste President, who believes that Mary Jane is innocent and is one of the thousands of women who are forced to leave their beloved country to work overseas.”
Karapatan also received a copy of an appeal by more than 11,000 individuals from the US, Austria, Singapore, Sweden, Canada, Denmark, United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia, Netherlands, Mexico, Switzerland, India, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Italy, Puerto Rico, Poland, Macedonia, Ireland, France, Belgium, Romania, New Zealand, Germany, Spain, Croatia, Lithuania, Honduras, Costa Rica, Argentina, French Polynesia, Hungary, Latvia, Ukraine, Japan, Luxembourg, Finland, Oman, Belarus, South Africa, Malta, Bulgaria, Portugal, Turkey, Israel, Dominican Republic, Serbia, Estonia, Jamaica, Ecuador, Norway, Colombia, Chile, Lebanon, Cayman Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago. The said petition was initiated and sent to Pres. Widodo by Mrs. Terri Hasse of the US.
“We call on fellow women, human rights advocates and defenders of life, human dignity and justice, to hear the plea of Mary Jane and the Filipino people. We echo her plea as to hear the plight of Filipino migrant workers who are forced to work outside the country because of poverty and social injustices that continue to this day in Philippine society,” the rights group concluded.
[i] Statement of Jose Ramos Horta, available at https://www.facebook.com/officialramoshorta/posts/898883580163527