Killing
Philippines
November 9, 2018
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint
partnership of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH, requests
your urgent intervention in the following situation in the Philippines.
Description of the situation:
The
Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the killing of human
rights lawyer Mr. Benjamin Ramos, a founding member of the National
Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) and the Secretary General of its chapter in
Negros Occidental Province. He was also a well-known advocate for peasants’
rights and the Executive Director of the Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development
Group (PDG), a non-governmental organisation assisting peasants in the same
province.
According
to the information received, on November 6, 2018, at 10:50 pm, Mr. Benjamin Ramos
was shot by motorcycle-riding gunmen in front of a store in Barangay 5,
Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental Province. His body sustained at least three
gunshot wounds. He was brought to the Holy Mercy Hospital in Kabankalan City,
where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Mr.
Ramos was a well-known human rights defender who provided pro-bono legal aid to
victims of human rights abuses, representing the most marginalized people in
the Philippines, including peasants, political prisoners, and victims of
enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Most recently, Mr. Ramos
was representing the families of nine farmers who were killed after joining a
protest on a sugarcane plantation in Sagay City, Negros Occidental Province, on
October 20, 2018.
The Observatory condemns in the strongest terms the
killing of Mr. Benjamin Ramos and urges the authorities of the Philippines to carry out a thorough,
impartial, and transparent investigation into his murder without undue delay
and to hold those responsible accountable.
The Observatory expresses its utmost concern over the
surge of killings and attacks against human rights defenders in the
Philippines and reiterates its call upon the authorities to adopt
effective measures to ensure the protection of human rights defenders in the
country and to ensure proper investigations into these killings and attacks.
Actions
requested:
Please
write to the authorities of the Philippines asking them to:
i. Guarantee in all
circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of all human
rights defenders in the country;
ii. Carry out an immediate, thorough, impartial, and transparent
investigation into the murder of Mr. Benjamin Ramos in order to identify all
those responsible, bring them before an independent tribunal, and sanction them
as provided by the law;
iii. Put an end to all acts of harassment against all
human rights defenders in the Philippines, and ensure that they are able to carry out
their legitimate activities without any hindrance and fear of reprisals;
iv.
Conform to the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders,
adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998,
especially its Articles 1 and 12.2;
v. 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.
Rodrigo Duterte, President of the Republic of the Philippines, Fax: +632
742-1641 / 929-3968, Email: op@president.gov.ph or send message through http://president.gov.ph/contact-us/;
· Mr. Teodoro
Locsin Jr, Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, Email:
osec@dfa.gov.ph;
· Hon.
Menardo Guevarra, Secretary, Department of Justice of the Philippines, Fax:
(+632) 521-1614, Email: communications@doj.gov.ph;
· Hon.
Jose Luis Martin Gascon, Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights of the
Philippines, Fax: +632 929 0102, Email: chairgascon.chr@gmail.com;
· H.E.
Mr. Evan P. Garcia, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Philippines to
the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 716 19 32 Email: mission@genevapm.ph;
· Embassy
of the Philippines in Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 02 345 64 25, Email: brusselspe@gmail.com.
Please also write to
the diplomatic representations of the Philippines in your respective countries.
***
Geneva-Paris, November 9, 2018
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human
Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by the World
Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of this programme
is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights
defenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European
Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil
society.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
·
E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
·
Tel and fax OMCT +41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / +41 22 809 49 29
·
Tel and fax FIDH +33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
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