Karapatan files complaints to UN experts over Duterte’s threats, vilification

MANILA — Rights group Karapatan filed letters of complaints to United Nations independent experts on the “persistent and repeated” threats and vilification that it has received from President Rodrigo Duterte.

It noted that the harassments hurled by the chief executive incited the military and police forces to quell Karapatan human rights workers and other organizations in the country.

“Duterte has alleged six times in his speeches and press conferences that Karapatan is a ‘legal front’ of the Communist Party of the Philippines, further making our human rights workers on the ground targets of state forces and considered fair game to any and all form of statesponsored attacks,” Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay.

She noted that many of Karapatan’s human rights defenders have been subjected to harassment, intimidation and extrajudicial killings by state forces.

“We are being targeted for speaking out against the murderous and tyrannical Duterte regime. We will continue to exhaust all mechanism for redress and protection and exact accountability from the Duterte regime and its state forces,” Palabay said.

The Karapatan secretary general said that such allegations violate the freedom of association and expression.

Palabay sent the organization’s letters of complaints to UN special rapporteur on the situation on human rights defenders Michel Forst, special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Annalisa Ciampi, special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression David Kaye and special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Agnes Callamard.