The Panaghiusa Philippine Network to Uphold IPs’ Rights welcomes the recommendations of the United Nations Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression Irene Khan on the abolition of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and junking Executive Order No. 70.
During a meeting with Irene Khan, Beverly Longid, the co-convenor of Panaghiusa Philippine Network, presented cases of violations against Indigenous activists whose freedom of expression has been violated by the government in the course of their defense of their right to self-determination to their Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC). Longid said in an earlier statement of Katribu, “We shall continue to engage Irene Khan and other mandate holders relevant to the Indigenous Peoples as we continue to call for genuine respect for FPIC, abolition of NTF-ELCAC, (and the) repeal of the Anti-Terror Law.”
SR Khan called for the abolishment of the NTF-ELCAC, saying that the policy is not applicable in the current situation since the Philippine government has already opened its interest in resuming peace talks. The analysis and propositions of SR Khan further shed light on the real status of human rights, and encourage calls for international solidarity and broader mass action to all the IPs and their advocates in advancing their struggle.
During the press conference on February 2, 2024, SR Irene Khan stated that the government must create an anti-red tagging policy to protect human rights activists and hold accountable those who violated it. She also recommended that the Commission on Human Rights define red-tagging and terror tagging and propose legislative measures against it.
The NTF-ELCAC was born out of Executive Order No. 70 signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2018. The NTF-ELCAC is widely criticized for its rampant human rights violations in the name of the peace process. The Indigenous Peoples and advocates are the subjects of red-tagging and terror-tagging that is continuing under the current administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the highlighted case is the terror-designation of CPA Indigenous leaders under ATL of 2020.
The Panaghiusa Philippine Network to Uphold Indigenous Peoples’ Rights urges the government to heed the recommendations of SR Khan and other international mechanisms to junk the NTF-ELCAC and EO No. 70, and hold the perpetrators of red-tagging accountable, and to ensure the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression and to put a stop at the criminalization of the IPs and advocates.
Reference:
Florante Reyes
Communications and Networking Officer
Contact: 09671191803