The Action Network
Human Rights – Philippines
Improving of the human rights situation in the Philippines
News
Murder of Zara Alvarez
The Philippine human rights defender, teacher and single mother of a minor daughter, Zara Alvarez, was killed by unidentified perpetrators near her apartment in Bacolod City, Negros Island (Philippines) on August 17, 2020. The members of the Aktionsbündnis Menschenrechte - Philippinen (AMP) are...
Inquirer reports on human rights activity of the Germany-based NGO philippinenbüro
Human rights defenders and rights activists have gathered in front of the cathedral of Cologne, Germany on 10th...
EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy sanctions human rights abuses
On Monday, December 7, 2020 the EU foreign ministers approved a mechanism that allows member countries to sanction...
Peace Talks: Duterte says there will be no more truce with communist rebels
On 7th December President Duterte said in his weekly address that during the rest of his term there will be no more...
Advocacy
As non-governmental organizations, we represent the interests of those affected by human rights violations in the Philippines before the human rights committees and bodies of international cooperation of the German government and international organizations such as the European Union and the United Nations.
Human Rights in the Philippines
By signing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and ratifying various UN human rights treaties, the Philippines has committed itself to protecting, respecting and guaranteeing human rights. Implementation is anchored in the Philippine constitution of 1987 and other agreements (such as the Bill of Rights) and institutions (such as the State Human Rights Commission – CHR). Of the nine most important UN human rights agreements, the Philippines has ratified eight. The UN Convention against Disappearances has not yet been signed or ratified by the Philippines:
- UN Civil Pact (1986)
- UN Social Pact (1974)
- UN Convention against Torture (1986)
- UN Women’s Rights Convention (1981)
- UN Anti-Racism Convention (1967)
- UN Migrant Workers Convention (1995)
- UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990)
- UN Disability Rights Convention (2008)
- UN Convention against Disappearances (not ratified by the Philippines)
Individual cases
The AMP documents and accompanies individual cases of political murders as well as criminalizations and disappearances of human rights defenders and journalists, which illustrate the methodology of structural human rights violations. A list of all cases of political murders of human rights defenders and journalists appears in the AMP Human Rights Report.
- Disappearances
- Criminalization
- Political murders
Way of working
The AMP uses lobbying instruments of civil society to influence decision-makers and multipliers in Germany, the EU and the UN. However, other means are also used to bring information to the public.
When lobbying is mentioned, many people first think of representatives of economic interests, which is why the AMP uses the term advocacy work. Civil society actors have been campaigning for democracy as new forces since the 1990s and thus making their concerns heard in politics.
What we do:
- Monitoring the human rights situation in the Philippines through direct information from our partners, through our own travels and through media monitoring
- Documentation of individual cases of serious human rights violations
- Writing action and lobby letters
- Regularly published analyses and LMP reports on the human rights situation in the Philippines
- Briefing of political decision-makers, parliamentarians, missions and delegations to the Philippines
- Organization of political expert discussions and networking workshops
Publications
Human Rights Report on the Philippines
Against the background of significantly increasing human rights violations, the AMP publishes a comprehensive human rights report every two to three years. The reports are based on information, cases and core concerns of our Philippine partner organizations to raise international awareness of human rights violations in the Philippines.
Action material and other reports
Advocacy work is aimed at decision-makers in politics and multipliers in Germany, the EU and the UN. We publish statements, press releases and other documents and reports in cooperation with the International Advocacy Networks (IAN) to contribute to the improvement of the human rights situation and the protection of human rights defenders in the Philippines.
About us
The Action Network Human Rights – Philippines
The Action Network Human Rights – Philippines (“Aktionsbündnis Menschenrechte – Philippinen” or “AMP”) pursues the objective to contribute to the improvement of the human rights situation in the Philippines by educating and influencing policy and decision makers as well as representatives of the civil society in Germany and the EU. Since its foundation in August 2007, the network coordinates policy dialogues, campaigns and international events and publishes background papers about the human rights situation in the Philippines.
The main topics of our work are the numerous cases of politically motivated killings and the continued practice of enforced disappearance.
Member Organisations of the AMP are Amnesty International Germany, Bread for the World – Church Development Service (EED), International Peace Observers Network (IPON), Misereor, Missio Munich, philippinenbuero Inc. in Asia House and the United Evangelical Mission (UEM).
