The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) reviewed the Philippines in the context of the seventh periodic report in Geneva on February 19, 2025, on the state of the country’s compliance with economic, social, and cultural human rights standards.
“The Philippines ranked third globally for killings of human rights defenders,” said Asraf Caunhye, head of CESCR’s Taskforce for the Philippines. Caunhye highlighted the number of 305 human rights defenders who have been killed in the Philippines since 2016 (see AMP 2024 Human Rights Report). He also pointed out the widespread practice of so-called “red-tagging,” where individuals, organizations and critics are falsely linked to insurgent groups or branded as “terrorist.” This tactic often results in harassment, violence, and, in many cases, murder.
At the UN Committee session, experts asked Philippine government officials about measures that are in place to ensure that those responsible for these crimes are prosecuted and sanctioned. Philippine delegation head Rosemarie Edillon said her country’s laws guarantee the protection and promotion of economic, social and cultural rights of the country’s citizens. She added that the Philippine government has launched its fourth Human Rights Plan, a roadmap for protecting and promoting human rights. “Part of this emphasizes the country’s commitment to the CESCR Covenant,” integrating human rights into national development, she said.
However, the Philippine government’s legislative efforts have proven inadequate in addressing the underlying structural issues that perpetuate inequality. This was pointed out by Joseph Purugganan, Co-Director of Focus on the Global South, who spoke at the UN session on behalf of the delegation of Philippine civil society organizations. “Economic disparities persist, leaving a significant portion of the population unable to fully enjoy their basic rights to food, health, housing, and education”, he said.
Purugganan called attention to the “ongoing attacks on human rights defenders and activists, particularly those involved in land rights struggles.” Recent reports show that the rise in mining projects has been escalating attacks on land and environmental defenders.
“With the lifting of the mining moratorium by Duterte, the Marcos administration has approved mining permits and actively made efforts to further streamline mining applications. As a result, 349 mining permits were approved in 2023,” said Purugganan.
Included in the tally of 305 human rights defenders killed were environmental defenders and anti-mining activists, many of them members of Indigenous Peoples communities defending ancestral lands.
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