Dear President Duterte:

The undersigned Partners of the Bertha Justice Network are writing to express our outrage at the killings of thirty-four lawyers during your Administration, in the context of tens of thousands of extrajudicial killings by state officials and paramilitary allies since 2016.

The crisis of attacks against lawyers is highlighted by the November 6, 2018 assassination of Attorney Benjamin Tarug Ramos by assailants on motorcycle in Kabankalan, Philippines.

We demand that your government immediately investigate the killings of Attorney Ramos and the other lawyers killed, and investigate and prosecute all killings by government officials or groups connected to officials.

The Bertha Justice Network is a global network of human rights and movement lawyering organizations working in pursuit of social justice in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

Extrajudicial killings of activists and political dissidents by state actors, and killing and intimidation of lawyers fighting state-sponsored violence are a coordinated attack on the rule of law in the Philippines. They are also a clear violation of the international human rights of Philippine lawyers and other citizens.

Bertha Justice Network members resolve to follow the progress of the investigation into the killing of Attorney Ramos, and to continue to monitor the situation of lawyers, activists and others under threat for their legal professional and political activities in the Philippines.  

As a network, we stand in strong support of our members who are engaging with allies and national governments throughout the world, and the UN human rights system, to ensure protection of internationally guaranteed human rights in the Philippines.

Sincerely,

Center for Constitutional Rights

Centre for Applied Legal Studies, South Africa

Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo, Colombia

EarthRights International, United States

Equal Education Law Centre, South Africa

European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, Germany

Foundation for Fundamental Rights, Pakistan

Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Hungary

Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, United States

LBH Masyarakat, Indonesia

Legal Resources Centre, South Africa

Michael Sfard Law Office, Israel

Palestinian Center for Human Rights, Gaza

Proyecto de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales, Mexico

Socio-Economic Rights Institute, South Africa

Article Tags: Bertha Justice Initiative / Bertha Justice Network / CAJAR / CALS / CCR / ECCHR / EELC / ERI / FFR / HCLU / IJDH / LBHM / LRC / Michael Sfard Law Office / PCHR / ProDESC / SERI