QUEZON CITY, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) organized its second roundtable discussion on the Human Rights Defenders (HRD) Protection bill aiming to consult stakeholders from various sectors and advocacies for inputs into the draft legislation. The roundtable discussion is part of a series of consultations the Commission has conducted to develop a measure that would strengthen human rights protection in the country. CHR, in collaboration with Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC), has drafted a bill that builds upon previous proposals submitted to Congress and aims to lobby its refined version before the Senate.
Key changes in the CHR’s version of the bill includes:
- Reformulation and renumbering of provisions to add specificity on how rights may be violated.
- Expansion on human rights concepts while retaining shared core with precedent measures.
- Strengthening provisions on state responsibility in urgent investigation and reparation of harmful attacks against human rights defenders.
The Council for People’s Development and Governance (CPDG) supports the legislation of a Human Rights Defenders Protection Law which will serve as a legal safeguard for HRDs from vilification, red-tagging, and SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation), militarization and other forms of harassment. But going beyond the implementation of an accessible remedy, HRDs should not have to face state-sponsored violations in response to legitimate people’s assertions and demands. Repression which is rife in the country’s political climate and must be put to stop.
We call on the Philippine government to prioritize the legislation of the HRD Protection Law and protect the interests of the people. ###
#UpholdHumanRights #DefendTheDefenders
#PassHRDProtectionBill #PeoplesRights