Dear friends,
August marks a deadly month of killings in the Philippines.
Dear friends,
August marks a deadly month of killings in the Philippines.
On the early morning of August 10, 2020, peace consultant and land and environmental defender Randall Echanis was stabbed to death by suspected state perpetrators. On August 16, 2017, 17-year old Kian delos Santos was fatally shot by the police conducting anti-drugs operations. Two days after, 19-year-old Carl Arnaiz and 14-year-old Reynaldo "Kulot" De Guzman went missing after accounts of being accosted by the police as suspected drug users. Their mangled bodies were later found. On August 17, 2020, human rights and health worker Zara Alvarez was shot to death by alleged State agents.
In almost all of these killings, justice before domestic mechanisms have remained elusive, while harbingers of these policies have not been made accountable and murderous campaigns have continued.
The UN Human Rights Council resolution on technical cooperation and capacity building on the human rights situation in the Philippines has fallen short of expectations and calls for an independent investigation. Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor has requested to open an investigation on the alleged killings and other rights violations in the sham drug war.
The Stop the Killings Week of Action in the Philippines is a national call for domestic and international actions of victims of rights violations and their kin, human rights defenders, people’s organizations and movements to:
- Strengthen the call to stop the killings in the Philippines;
- Amplify support for human rights violations victims in their quest for justice and accountability; and
- Enjoin the UNHRC to conduct an independent investigation on the rights situation in the Philippines and the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber to grant the Prosecutor’s request for an investigation in the drug war killings and violations.
We mark August as a month of remembering — and reckoning.
They tried to bury hundreds and thousands of us; they did not know we are seeds.
Join us from August 9 to 17, 2021 as we ring our urgent calls for justice and to stop the killings in the Philippines.
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LOOK OUT FOR AND PARTICIPATE IN THE #StopTheKillingsPH ACTIVITIES THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS OF ORGANIZATIONS!
Karapatan, the #CourageON: No Lockdown on Rights coalition, EcuVoice Philippines, and the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines will hold an online solidarity program on August 17, 2021 at 6 p.m. Supporting organizations and allies are invited to send 1 to 2 minute video messages to karapatan@karapatan.org by August 15, 2021.
ORGANIZATIONS, GROUPS, INSTITUTIONS CAN SIGN ON TO THIS UNITY STATEMENT BY AUGUST 16, 2021: https://forms.gle/MLfGzPu1dg71ALYW7
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JOIN THE #StopTheKillingsPH SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS!
August marks a deadly month of killings in the Philippines under the Duterte administration. It was on this month that the lives of Randall Echanis, Zara Alvarez, Kian delos Santos, Carl Angelo Arnaiz and Reynaldo “Kulot” de Guzman were claimed in the government’s drug war and war on dissent.
From August 9 to 17, 2021, various organizations are conducting protest and information activities in the Philippines to ring the urgent call to stop the extrajudicial killings in the country.
Support these actions by posting a picture of yourself holding any flower with texts on a face mask or a piece of paper or a face paint – I AM (NAME OF EJK VICTIM).
Include a caption:
I AM (NAME OF EJK VICTIM).
They tried to bury us. They didn’t know that we are seeds. #StopTheKillingsPH
Filipino artist Kevin Eric Raymundo will likewise initiate another #Tumindig (translated as Rise Up) Campaign online
Organized by Karapatan, Rise Up for Life and for Rights, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, EcuVoice Philippines, Concerned Artists of the Philippines, Sandugo Movement of Moro and Indigenous Peoples for Self-Determination, Kalikasan, National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, and Kodao Productions
Co-organized by#CourageON: No Lockdown on Rights coalitionn, Defend Negros #StopTheAttacks, Tanggol Magsasaka, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, Promotion for Church Peoples Response, Iglesia Filipina Independiente, and Pilgrims for Peace
Supported by International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, Civicus World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Association for Women’s Rights in Development, the International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and Front Line Defenders