Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 18) — Gabriela said the Marcos and Duterte administrations “must be held accountable” after a United Nations (UN) report showed that Filipino women human rights defenders (WHRDs) continue to suffer from “extreme violence.”
\”Filipino women and people exercising their civil and political rights amid dire socio-economic crises and government neglect have made them targets of state repression,\” Gabriela Vice Chairperson Joms Salvador said in a statement.
The group noted some of the different cases the WHRDs experience, including disappearances, abductions, imprisonment, Anti-Terrorism Law charges, killings, and other forms of human rights violations.
\”Filipino women demand accountability from the Philippine government: for the disappearance of Elizabeth ‘Loi’ Magbanua, Elgene Mungcal, Cha Pampoza, and many other desaparecidos; for the abduction and torture of Dyan Gumanao, Jonila Castro, and Jhed Tamano, among others,\” it stated.
\”Continuing imprisonment of political prisoners, at least 157 of them women; 16 WHRDs slapped with charges related to the Anti-Terrorism Law; the killing of hundreds of HRDs, including 66 WHRDs in the last six years; and for all other vicious rights violations committed by state forces against Filipino activists and dissenters,\” it added.
This came after UN expert Mary Lawlor reiterated the issue last week during the Special Rapporteur UN General Assembly, citing the UN’s July 2022 report which showed that the Philippines is among the three countries that target with “extreme violence” and “overlapping risks” women defenders advocating land, environment, and indigenous peoples’ rights.
Lawlor then called on the states to ensure the protection for WHRDs as key for effective peace building.
Gabriela urged the government to release its new National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security as mandated under the UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
The group also emphasized the specific provisions that will strengthen justice and accountability for human rights defenders.
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