Open letter calls on the Canadian government to speak out against killings in the Philippines
KAIROS was among sixty-five organizations in Canada (including churches, trade unions and Filipino associations) that sent an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling on him to publicly condemn the killings of human rights defenders in the Philippines.
The letter responds to a series of military operations that took place during the weekend of March 4-7, 2021 in which 9 labour and Indigenous leaders and human rights activists were killed. Now known as “Bloody Sunday”, the deadly military operations are part of the Philippine President Duterte’s increasingly brutal implementation of the government’s counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism wars.
The Open Letter calls on the Canadian government to denounce these killings and this state-sponsored terror against the Filipino people.
Citing Canada’s “Voices at Risk: Canada’s guidelines on supporting human rights defenders”, the letter urges Prime Minister Trudeau to follow through on Canada’s commitment to protect and promote human rights and end its policy of quiet diplomacy.
The letter is reproduced in full, along with the original list of signatories.
Although it has already been delivered to the Prime Minister’s office, you can find at the bottom of this webpage an area to sign onto the letter. SIGN NOW!
