Leila de Lima was jailed under former President Rodrigo Duterte, who led the so-called “war on drugs” that has killed thousands in the Philippines. A Senator at the time, Leila was one of Duterte’s most prominent critics before bogus charges were brought against her using witness testimony that was later retracted in a process that took nearly seven years.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte helped pave a seamless road for the Marcos family to fulfill their lifelong mission of distorting history and shrouding the Filipino peoples’ memory with doubts in their desire to reinstall their family’s influence and clout in Philippine politics and business. Only a little over a year in the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., the horrors of his father’s dictatorship marked by human rights violations, abuses, and atrocities have already been botched using subtle but significant load of propaganda and political nudges, ironically being maneuvered using taxpayers’ money, creeping its way one institution after another.
Many LGBTQIA+ individuals–Filipinos with diverse Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression (SOGIE)–are struggling against discrimination every day. Daily injustices that span from side-eyes, tasteless jokes, and misgendering to being denied access to social services and adequate healthcare, gatekept from jobs and learning opportunities, subjected to harassment and violence from their own communities, and deprived of means and mechanisms to demand accountability.
Indigenous Peoples’ rights defenders Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz Jamil “Bazoo” de Jesus, were last seen in Taytay town, Rizal province, on 28 April 2023. Witnesses state that two men matching Dexter and Bazoo’s descriptions were forcibly taken by unknown individuals identifying themselves as working for a police agency, around the time and place where the two activists were last seen.
In Türkiye, Pride faces a battle on two major fronts: LGBTI rights are under increasing attack, while the right to protest has been severely limited for years. Since 2015, Pride events have been systemically banned in Türkiye, preventing LGBTI people from demanding their rights.
On the 50th anniversary of the declaration of martial law in 2022, Amnesty International Philippines started its year-long teach in on generational trauma brought about by the Marcos dictatorship to children and families of Martial Law heroes and survivors.
By the Cinemata Curatorial Team
In Amnesty International Philippines, we engage and work with a diverse network of partners and coalitions in our human rights work: school administrations and school-based organizations, youth groups, civil society organizations, government institutions, companies, and professional organizations such as lawyers’ and medical associations, solidarity and pressure groups, academic institutions open to human rights work, religious-based organizations, funding NGOs, developmental NGOs and people’s organizations, trade unions, environmental groups, women’s groups, humanitarian and peace groups, and NGO networks as well as the wide range of groups and organizations covering civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.
On its 62nd anniversary, Amnesty International Philippines announced its Ignite Awards for Human Rights Season 3 winners following the theme “Protect the Protest”, Amnesty’s newest campaign on right to protest launched globally in 2022. Walden Bello and Center for International Law (Center Law) were named Most Distinguished Human Rights Defenders for individual and organization for the impact of their human rights work in demanding for justice and accountability from the government. The Outstanding Young Human Rights Defender Award was awarded to Franchesca Paula Garcia for her advocacy on violence against women, safe spaces, and equal rights for the LGBTQIA+ community, while Art that Matters for Music went to Calix and BLKD of the Sandata rap group for their work on the collaborative album, Kolateral.
Amnesty International is today calling for social security to be made available to everyone worldwide after a series of crises exposed huge gaps in state support and protection systems, leaving hundreds of millions facing hunger or trapped in a cycle of poverty and deprivation.
Our human right to just and favorable conditions of work as prescribed under the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights include fair wages, equal pay for work of equal value, safe and healthy working conditions, reasonable limitations on working hours, respect and protection of women, LGBTQIA, persons with disability and indigenous peoples in the workforce, and equality of treatment in employment.
Protest is a human right because it allows people to stand up for what they believe in. This precious right is under attack all over the world right now. Will you join us in protecting it?