LAWYERS’ organizations, bar associations, and human rights organizations from across the globe have signed a manifesto condemning the ongoing culture of impunity in the country.
On Wednesday, some 29 member-organization of Lawyers for Lawyers signed a joint statement on the escalating attacks against lawyers in the Philippines.
“Attacks against lawyers in the Philippines continue to take place and killings have reached a record high since the start of President Duterte’s administration five years ago. We, the undersigned organizations, express our deep concern over the attacks and the oppressive working environment lawyers still face in the Philippines. We call again on the Duterte Government to adequately protect the safety and independence of lawyers and end the culture of impunity in which these attacks occur,” the statement reads in part.
The group pointed out that at least 46 jurists have been killed between July 2016 and September 5, last year.
“Among them at least 41 lawyers and prosecutors, of which 24 practicing lawyers. Eight jurists survived attacks on their life,” the statement reads.
This figure, however, has risen since 2016 to 61 jurists killed.
According to the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), half of the lawyers killed since 2016 were work-related. For its part, the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) concurred and that at least 54 of the 61 killings were work-related.
In the statement, Lawyers for Lawyers claimed that lawyers killed were involved in high-profile or human rights cases. The cases they represented were victims of human rights violations, government critics, political opposition leaders, human rights defenders, environmental activists, and people who have been accused of terrorism or drug-related crimes.
In a June 2020 report, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) concluded that ‘persistent impunity for human rights violations is stark’ and ‘practical obstacles to accessing justice are almost insurmountable’.
The NUPL reached a similar conclusion: “almost all of the perpetrators have never been brought to the bar of justice.” According to NUPL, this climate of impunity emboldens perpetrators to commit further attacks.
The OHCHR noted that alongside the intensified campaign against illegal drugs, the government of the Philippines has scaled up its response for countering terrorism and conflicts. This also has an acute impact on civil society, including lawyers and judicial actors, “particularly through the phenomenon of “red-tagging.”
The OHCHR found that “red-tagging” in de Philippines “has been a persistent and powerful threat to civil society and freedom of expression”, adding that “[S]uch public labeling has proved extremely dangerous”. OHCHR referred to the example of four human rights defenders, including Attys Benjamin Ramos Jr. and Anthony Trinidad, who appeared on posters and hit lists claiming to depict members of alleged terrorist organizations, and were subsequently murdered.
Lawyers for Lawyers recommends that the national government investigate all extrajudicial killings “promptly, effectively, thoroughly, and independently.”
The group comprises: AIJA – International Association of Young Lawyers
Amsterdam Bar Association (Netherlands), ASESORÍA JURÍDICA BOADA, Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), Associació Catalana per a la Defensa dels Drets Humans, Avvocati minacciati Unione camere penali italiane, Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales, Burgas Bar Association, Confederation of Lawyers of Asia and the Pacific (COLAP), Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), Deutscher Anwaltverein, European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH), European Criminal Bar Association, European Democratic Lawyers.
Other organizations that signed the manifesto were Foundation Day of the Endangered Lawyer, Human Rights Embassy (Moldova), Indian Association of Lawyers, International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), International Commission of Jurists, International Observatory of Lawyers in Danger, Law Council of Australia, Law Society of England and Wales, Lawyers for Lawyers, Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, Noord-Nederland Bar Association (Netherlands), Progressive Lawyers Association (Turkey), Rotterdam Bar Association (Netherlands), Southern African Human Rights Defenders Network, The Arrested Lawyers Initiative, and UIA-IROL (Institute for the Rule of Law of the International Association of Lawyers). (CBC)
