The UK remains concerned about reports of human rights abuses in the Philippines, including the treatment of human rights defenders, journalists and land rights campaigners. We have consistently called on the Government of the Philippines to ensure a safe environment for human rights defenders.<\/p>
I raised these concerns with Philippines Ministers, including the then Secretary for Foreign Affairs Alan Peter Cayetano, during my most recent visit to Manila in August 2018.<\/p>
Senior FCO officials also raised human rights with the Philippines Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Enrique Manalo during the UK - Philippine High Level Talks that took place in Manila on 19 November 2018.<\/p>
At the UN Human Rights Council in September 2018, we urged the Philippines to conduct thorough investigations into killings associated with the "war on drugs" and to ensure the safety of land rights defenders.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1405", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mark Field"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Cities of London and Westminster"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mark Field"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-01-17", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-01-17T15:21:17.85Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-01-14", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Philippines: Human Rights"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Philippines on the safety of human rights defenders in that country.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1484", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Helen Goodman"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bishop Auckland"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Helen Goodman"} ], "uin" : "208222"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1005728", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1005728/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The UK is fully committed to the promotion and protection of human rights, and reports of human rights abuses in the Philippines remain troubling. We are concerned by the high death toll associated with the 'war on drugs', the situation of land rights and human rights defenders, developments on media freedom, and moves to reintroduce the death penalty.<\/p>
Our Embassy in Manila has made these concerns clear with senior officials and government figures and it is in regular contact with human rights groups and relevant UN bodies on a range of human rights issues. We also work closely with the wider international community, including our EU partners, to press for investigations into instances of abuse and to encourage the protection of human rights defenders.<\/p>
I raised these issues with a number of Philippine Ministers during my trip to Manila in August 2018 and with the Philippine Ambassador in April 2018. In the UK item 2 statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 11 September 2018, we urged the Philippines to investigate killings associated with the "war on drugs" and to ensure the safety of Land Rights defenders.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1405", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mark Field"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Cities of London and Westminster"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mark Field"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-15T14:13:32.387Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-11-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Philippines: Human Rights"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the protection of human rights in the Philippines.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/308", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Coventry South"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Jim Cunningham"} ], "uin" : "190341"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/931580", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/931580/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The UK is fully committed to the global promotion and protection of human rights. Human rights abuses in the Philippines remain troubling. Our Embassy in Manila is in regular contact with human rights groups and relevant UN bodies on a range of human rights issues. We also work closely with our EU partners to press for investigations into instances of abuse.<\/p>
I personally raised concerns with the Philippine Ambassador in April 2018, and with the Philippines\u2019 Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs in December 2017. In a statement on 19 June 2018 before the Human Rights Council, the United Kingdom, along with 37 other signatory countries, urged the Government of the Philippines to cooperate with the United Nations system, without preconditions or limitations. We also called upon the Philippines to provide and guarantee a safe and secure environment for all, including journalists and Human Rights defenders.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1405", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mark Field"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Cities of London and Westminster"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mark Field"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-07-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "previousAnswerVersion" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/931580/answer/previousversion/67023", "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1405", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mark Field"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Cities of London and Westminster"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mark Field"} } , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-07-02T17:08:08.877Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-06-26", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Philippines: Human Rights"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Philippines counterpart on the human rights situation in that country.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1484", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Helen Goodman"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bishop Auckland"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Helen Goodman"} ], "uin" : "157692"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 3, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }