Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 12) – The Philippines is the deadliest country for farmers, indigenous peoples and land activists, according to a report from an international non-profit organization.
Pan Asia Pacific (PANAP), in its Land & Rights Watch 2019 report, said that from January 1 to November 30, it recorded a total of 108 cases of land-related human rights violations in 14 countries worldwide, 84 of which were killings. The total number of land-related killings is higher than the 57 it recorded in the same period last year, which is indicative of deteriorating human rights situation faced by rural communities in specific countries where attacks are concentrated, PANAP said.
Of the total number of deaths, 49 were farmers and farm workers; 36 were indigenous peoples and 23 were land activists, the report said.
It added that 50 dead victims were from the Philippines, followed by Colombia with 27. The rest was recorded in Brazil.
PANAP noted a 51-percent increase in the number of killings related to land struggle and conflict in the Philippines. This means that one Filipino farmer, farm worker, indigenous person or land activist is being killed every week this year, compared to an average of just one victim every two weeks in 2018, PANAC said.
In the Philippines, most (27) of those who were killed allegedly died at the hands of state forces such as the police and the military as the government intensified its war against insurgency.
The report also said communities claim that the unknown assailants were from criminal gangs and private armed groups, including those who were purportedly hired by private individuals involved in territorial disputes and under the protection of authorities.
Other violations recorded were arrests, detention and legal persecution. There were also cases of threats, harassment and physical assault as well as displacement.
The group warned that if the trend of human rights violations goes unchecked, the vulnerable sector run the risk of becoming mere ‘statistics.’
PANAP has 105 network partner organizations in the Asia Pacific region and links with 400 civil society organizations.
The data and information of the report were sourced from online news and articles and reports from its partners and networks in the region, the organization said.
PANAP said that while their report was not “exhaustive,” it helped shine a light on the “alarming state of human rights confronted by indigenous peoples, farmers, farmworkers and others in the rural communities around the world that are defending their right to land and resources.”
