Duterte speaks at Human Rights Summit

On december 7th the Human Rights Summit organised by the department of Justice opened its doors. President Duterte said in his speech that he was proud that the Philippines signed many of the world’s core human rights treaties. Numerous organisations are criticising this summit as a farce. Cristina Palabay, general secretary of Karapatan calls it a “desperate charade” in order to cover up the culture of impunity, taking into account that human rights defenders are constantly fearing for their lives in the Philippines. The fact that the summit is being organised by the Department of Justice is also being criticised. According to the fisherfolk rights group Pamalakaya, the DOJ has no moral ground to host an event like this, since “it is the one proscribing progressive organizations and individuals as terrorist, making them legitimiate targets of state forces.” The words that Duterte directed at his audience don’t go together with his other public statements. On December 3rd, not even a week before the summit, he said that he doesn’t care about human rights. He who threatened to behead those critical of his war on drugs now said: “I urge everyone to strengthen the multi-sectoral engagement that would foster a healthy human rights environment for all“