Tag Archives: human rights

Duterte’s ‘War on Drugs’ in the Philippines: By the Numbers

By admin | February 27, 2017

The Philippine police has released some statistics confirming the extensive reach of the government’s “war on drugs.” Dubbed as “Project Double Barrel Alpha,” the anti-drug campaign is a top priority of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, who assumed power last July 1. Could this mean more deaths, arrests, police visits, and extrajudicial killings until […]

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Cambodia Defends Its Human Rights Record

By admin | May 17, 2015

Written for The Diplomat Cambodia presented its human rights report before the United Nations Office in Geneva amid growing allegations that abuses are being systematically committed by state forces. The UN committee acknowledged that Cambodia has introduced some reforms in recent years, in particular land reform and registration of indigenous communal lands. But it also […]

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Are Myanmar and the Philippines Guilty of Genocide?

By admin | August 20, 2013

Written for The Diplomat It is common for unpopular governments to be accused by their enemies of committing serious human rights violations such as murder and kidnapping, but it is not often that genocide is included in the charge sheet. Even notorious dictators who are assumed to be guilty of committing the most heinous crimes […]

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Somchai, Jonas, Sombath

By admin | May 2, 2013

Written for The Diplomat Thai human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit went missing on March 12, 2004. Filipino activist Jonas Burgos was last seen on April 28, 2007. Lao development economist and educator Sombath Somphone disappeared on December 15, 2012. The search for these missing activists has become a campaign for human rights promotion, not only […]

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Beyond Legislation: Ending Torture in the Philippines

By admin | August 4, 2012

Speech delivered in Hong Kong last July 21 during the Meeting of Parliamentarians of the Asian Alliance against Torture and ill-treatment organized by the Asian Human Rights Commission. Good afternoon dear friends and fellow human rights advocates. Mabuhay! On May 19, 2009 Filipino-American Melissa Roxas was abducted by suspected members of the military in a […]

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Aquino’s Human Rights Problem

By admin | December 23, 2011

Please visit the special page I created about Philippine Airport Terminals. I also edited my profile page The Philippines is often recognized by global institutions for its strong commitment to human rights. Indeed, compared with other countries in the region, where government critics are given insanely long prison sentences and media reports are heavily censored […]

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WikiLeaks on Laos

By admin | October 25, 2011

The Laos files from WikiLeaks underscored the country’s underdevelopment, endemic corruption in the bureaucracy and the fragile state of its environment. But we already know that. What makes the cables interesting is the kind of frankness that we don’t often get to see or hear from diplomats’ public statements. For example, here’s how the US […]

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