Philippine Human Rights Act

The Philippines has been deemed one of the deadliest countries in the world for land defenders, journalists and trade unionists. According to human rights groups, the number of killings under the current Duterte regime, infamous for its deadly war on drugs, has risen to 30,000. Karpatan, a leading human rights organization in the Philippines, has documented the forced displacement of over 456,103 civilians due to bombing and indiscriminate bombing of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Freedom of the press and the freedom of speech is met with arrest, intimidation and murder. In August 2019, Brandon Lee, an indigenous activist from the Bay Area, became the first U.S. citizen shot under the Duterte regime after heavy surveillance from Philippine state forces. However, since 2016, the U.S. has provided $550 million dollars in military aid to Duterte and implemented paltry human rights restrictions and oversight. September 18, 2020, Representative Susan Wild and cosponsors introduced bold, new legislation to protect human rights in the Philippines. The PHILIPPINE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT (PHRA) will block all forms of U.S. aid to both the army and police of the Philippines until human rights conditions are met. We are asking you and the rest of Congress to support Representative Wild’s legislation of the PHRA to protect human rights in the Philippines. PASS THE PHILIPPINE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT. Thank you in advance for your support.

First sent on October 1, 2020 by Malaya LA