The Google Collaboratory Project is out. Below is the video that includes my blogger statement on human rights and the Internet.
Indonesia
BATU, Indonesia. Photo by Jes Aznar
Showing posts with label Human Rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Human Rights. Show all posts
Monday, April 16, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Fighting Impunity in the Philippines
FIGHTING IMPUNITY IN THE PHILIPPINES
by Iris Gonzales
One death is too many. As I write this, human rights organizations and loved ones of victims of enforced disappearances and extra judicial killings continue to cry out for justice.
The numbers are stark and telling: 150 journalists killed since 1986; at least 206 cases of enforced disappearances; and 1,206 cases of extra judicial killings since 2001, according to data from the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and Karapatan.
Fighting impunity is an uphill battle but the people are not giving up. Everyday, in the courtroom, in unknown places, through images and various campaigns, the struggle continues.
The Internet, for instance, is also used as a tool to raise awareness on the situation in the country and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
But this is not enough. The Aquino administration must make true its promise to address the problem of impunity in the country.
Until then, the number of deaths will continue to grow. And one death is too many.
(This multimedia project is part of Google's Collaboratory Project on Human Rights and the Internet launched in Berlin, Germany in March 2012. Thank you to Jes Aznar, Edith Burgos, Kiri Dalena, Angelica Carballo, JB Deveza of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Angge Santos of Karapatan, Linda Cadapan, Connie Empeno, Krissy Konti and Rorie Fajardo for the invaluable assistance).
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Philippines Must Dismantle Private Armies
My latest blog on The New Internationalist:
Philippines must dismantle its private armies!
Next year, the Philippines will again hold local elections. People from far-flung villages and remote areas will be casting their votes in the hope that whoever they vote for will help improve their lives.But elections in the Philippines are not just about leadership changes and ballot counting.
Elections in the Philippines come with a high price. Things get violent as desperate people cling to power, and one huge factor that contributes to violence during elections is the existence of state-backed paramilitaries.
And the gruesome 2009 Ampatuan Massacre happened exactly because of that.
Two years ago, on an ordinary Monday morning, in a province they called home, some 58 people were massacred in what would be the most gruesome election-related violence in the Philippines in recent years.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch has said that it is important for President Benigno Aquino III to ban all paramilitary forces in the Philippines because of their long and continuing history of serious human rights violations.
Furthermore, the group said that abuses by these paramilitary force members are rarely investigated or prosecuted.
‘President Aquino’s promise to dismantle “private armies” is a necessary step to end election violence in the Philippines. But he should go further and disband the state paramilitary forces that are frequently as abusive,’ said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
The Philippine president that the police have already ‘neutralized’ at least 28 private armed groups, as of June 2011.
For its part, Human Rights Watch urged the police to publish the full list of private armies and explain what steps have been taken to address state involvement in these groups.
‘Elections in the Philippines are often bloody, with the violence mainly carried out by warring political factions with the support of private armies and state-backed paramilitaries,’ the group said.
Human Rights Watch also notes that paramilitary groups are formed not just for elections but also for mining companies and against the communist New People’s Army.
The human rights violations committed by paramilitary groups are grave but often ignored by the state, leading to a culture of impunity.
Because of this, the group said there should be a systematic disarming of all these private armies.
‘Dismantling private armies should be more than a PR exercise,’ Pearson said.
‘The failure to address paramilitaries as well as private armies puts political opponents and ordinary civilians at continued risk from powerful local politicians.’
Indeed, only with the abolition of private armies can the people score in the fight against impunity.
Photo of a Filipino solider by Jayel Aheram under a CC Licence.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Culture of impunity thrives in the Philippines
My latest blog for The New Internationalist:
The story goes that one ordinary day, as ordinary as the rising of the sun, they disappeared. They were abducted and were never seen again. Witnesses attest that they were raped repeatedly and beaten again and again by members of the Philippine military.
Two women. Two missing daughters. Two names: Sherlyn Cadapan, Karen Empeño.
And it’s not just them. They are just two among thousands of unresolved human rights cases in the Philippines, a place where young men and women disappear in the middle of the night, where farmers and peasant workers are abducted and tortured and where women are raped in military camps and far-flung villages.
More than a year into the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, the president has yet to fulfil his promise to improve the overall human rights situation in the country.
In its World Report 2012, published by the New York-based Human Rights Watch, the group lists different human rights issues that Aquino has yet to address: extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances; private armies; torture; targeted killings of petty criminals and street youths; conflict with the New People’s Army and reproductive rights, among other issues.
‘President Benigno Aquino III maintains that the government is “working overtime” to prevent new cases of human rights violations and to resolve previous cases, and has pleaded for patience. Yet despite promises of reform, his administration has made little progress in addressing impunity. Extrajudicial killings of leftist activists and petty criminals continue, with the government failing to acknowledge and address involvement by the security forces and local officials,’ Human Rights Watch said in its report, released last month.
In the area of extra-judicial killings for instance, the human rights watchdog said the government has ‘largely failed to prosecute military personnel’ implicated in the killings of hundreds of leftist politicians and political activists, as well as journalists murdered since 2001.
‘Only 7 cases of extra-judicial killings from the past decade have been successfully prosecuted, none of which were in 2011 or involved active duty military personnel,’ the group said.
This was despite the military’s promise to improve the human rights situation in the country by going after those implicated in past cases.
And in stark contrast to the promises made by the administration, Human Rights Watch said politically motivated killings have continued.
‘Human Rights Watch has documented at least 7 extrajudicial killings and 3 enforced disappearances for which there is strong evidence of military involvement since Aquino took office in June 2010,’ the group said.
Citing some cases of disappearances – such as that of 4 leftist activists in 2006 and 2007 (Sherlyn Cadapan, Karen Empeño, Manuel Merino, and Jonas Burgos) – Human Rights Watch said that the families continue to face ‘inaction from the government’.
President Aquino has also failed to fulfil his promise to dismantle the ‘private armies’ of politicians and wealthy landowners.
These groups have long been responsible for serious abuses, including the politically motivated Maguindanao Massacre which killed 58 people including media workers.
‘Promises to revoke Executive Order 546, which local officials cite to justify the provision of arms to their personal forces, also have not come to fruition. Aquino still defends the use of poorly trained and abusive paramilitary forces to fight NPA insurgents and Islamist armed groups,’ the group reported.
The list of human rights issues that have yet to be settled and addressed goes on and on.
Victims of human rights violations can only hope that the current administration will finally fulfil its promises.
‘The Philippines is a multiparty democracy with an elected president and legislature, a thriving civil society sector, and a vibrant media. Several key institutions, including the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, remain weak and the military and police still commit human rights violations with impunity,’ Human Rights Watch concluded.
Indeed, a culture of impunity remains despite promises of reform. Whether or not the administration is serious with its commitment to address human rights issues has yet to be seen.
Meantime, mothers of missing students, loved ones of victims and the victims themselves will continue their quest for justice.
The story goes that one ordinary day, as ordinary as the rising of the sun, they disappeared. They were abducted and were never seen again. Witnesses attest that they were raped repeatedly and beaten again and again by members of the Philippine military.
Two women. Two missing daughters. Two names: Sherlyn Cadapan, Karen Empeño.
And it’s not just them. They are just two among thousands of unresolved human rights cases in the Philippines, a place where young men and women disappear in the middle of the night, where farmers and peasant workers are abducted and tortured and where women are raped in military camps and far-flung villages.
More than a year into the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, the president has yet to fulfil his promise to improve the overall human rights situation in the country.
In its World Report 2012, published by the New York-based Human Rights Watch, the group lists different human rights issues that Aquino has yet to address: extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances; private armies; torture; targeted killings of petty criminals and street youths; conflict with the New People’s Army and reproductive rights, among other issues.
‘President Benigno Aquino III maintains that the government is “working overtime” to prevent new cases of human rights violations and to resolve previous cases, and has pleaded for patience. Yet despite promises of reform, his administration has made little progress in addressing impunity. Extrajudicial killings of leftist activists and petty criminals continue, with the government failing to acknowledge and address involvement by the security forces and local officials,’ Human Rights Watch said in its report, released last month.
In the area of extra-judicial killings for instance, the human rights watchdog said the government has ‘largely failed to prosecute military personnel’ implicated in the killings of hundreds of leftist politicians and political activists, as well as journalists murdered since 2001.
‘Only 7 cases of extra-judicial killings from the past decade have been successfully prosecuted, none of which were in 2011 or involved active duty military personnel,’ the group said.
This was despite the military’s promise to improve the human rights situation in the country by going after those implicated in past cases.
And in stark contrast to the promises made by the administration, Human Rights Watch said politically motivated killings have continued.
‘Human Rights Watch has documented at least 7 extrajudicial killings and 3 enforced disappearances for which there is strong evidence of military involvement since Aquino took office in June 2010,’ the group said.
Citing some cases of disappearances – such as that of 4 leftist activists in 2006 and 2007 (Sherlyn Cadapan, Karen Empeño, Manuel Merino, and Jonas Burgos) – Human Rights Watch said that the families continue to face ‘inaction from the government’.
President Aquino has also failed to fulfil his promise to dismantle the ‘private armies’ of politicians and wealthy landowners.
These groups have long been responsible for serious abuses, including the politically motivated Maguindanao Massacre which killed 58 people including media workers.
‘Promises to revoke Executive Order 546, which local officials cite to justify the provision of arms to their personal forces, also have not come to fruition. Aquino still defends the use of poorly trained and abusive paramilitary forces to fight NPA insurgents and Islamist armed groups,’ the group reported.
The list of human rights issues that have yet to be settled and addressed goes on and on.
Victims of human rights violations can only hope that the current administration will finally fulfil its promises.
‘The Philippines is a multiparty democracy with an elected president and legislature, a thriving civil society sector, and a vibrant media. Several key institutions, including the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, remain weak and the military and police still commit human rights violations with impunity,’ Human Rights Watch concluded.
Indeed, a culture of impunity remains despite promises of reform. Whether or not the administration is serious with its commitment to address human rights issues has yet to be seen.
Meantime, mothers of missing students, loved ones of victims and the victims themselves will continue their quest for justice.
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