Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

To move—That this House:

recognises the Australian Parliament’s ongoing commitment to the global promotion of democracy, human rights and respect for the rule of law;

notes with concern the existence of a policy of extrajudicial killing in the Philippines, an issue which has escalated with a nationwide drug campaign based merely on suspicion, providing police and vigilante groups with a ‘licence to kill’;

notes that Philippine Senator Leila De Lima, the former Secretary of Justice, has been a notable critic of President Rodrigo Duterte’s policy of extrajudicial killing;

notes the deteriorating plight of Senator De Lima, who since 24 February 2017 has been arbitrarily detained without trial, charged with drug related offences on the strength of untested statements of convicted drug lords, police officers and prison officials;

further notes that the conditions and circumstances of her arbitrary detention have restricted her:

freedom of movement; and

capacity to carry out her duties as an incumbent Senator of the Republic of the Philippines, including the very fundamental and critical right of a legislator to attend parliamentary hearings and cast her vote on legislative measures;

also notes that President Duterte is on record having made a number of attacks against Senator De Lima, publicly vowing to destroy her;

further notes that the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the United Nations Human Rights Council, handed down a ruling in November 2018 confirming the injustice of Senator De Lima’s arrest and has recommend a number of measures be adopted by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, most notably, her immediate release; and

calls on the Australian Government to use all diplomatic measures to urge the Philippine Government to:

immediately:

release Senator De Lima from incarceration; and

remove all undue personal and work restrictions that have been placed on her;

ensure the conduct of a fair and transparent trial, consistent with the rule of law; and

permit Senator De Lima to fully discharge her office as a duly elected Senator.

Knowing that the international community, especially Members of the Australian Parliament, continue to monitor the Philippines situation, including my case, and call out the exercises of the regime, is what keeps me going and fighting.

I've decided to use the words of Senator De Lima herself when she wrote to me, highlighting the situation she faces because she's been an active voice against the excesses of the Philippines president and a voice for the need for attracting the attention of the international community to the situation in the Philippines.

I move the motion in the chamber today as we approach two years since Senator De Lima was first detained on the 24 February, 2019. Senator De Lima has been a notable critic of President Duterte's murderous war on drugs, publicly speaking out against his policy of extrajudicial executions. Extrajudicial killings have been the principal human rights concern in the Philippines, an issue which has escalated in the nationwide drug campaign. Summary and lethal justice based merely on suspicion has claimed the claimed the lives of thousands of people with some sources claiming the number could be as high as 20,000 over the last two years.

A key aspect of President Duterte's policy of extrajudicial killings is reliance on a watchlist of suspected people. These lists in effect provide the police and somehow various vigilante groups with a licence to kill. The lack of due process in police operations and the fact that these deaths are not being properly or transparently investigated is of great concern.

My trip late last year to the Philippines, where I engaged with students at De La Salle University in Manila and with various institutions in defending human rights, was particularly confronting. Despite the extreme measures employed under President Duterte's war on drugs, the fact is that all indicators show that drugs in the Philippines have actually increased.

Interestingly, there appears to be little effort in targeting those at the top end of organised crime syndicates and, notwithstanding President Duterte's close relationship with the Chinese leadership, nothing seems to have curtailed the supply of drugs or precursor chemicals into the Philippines.

Apart from the grave issues surrounding the policy of extrajudicial killings, President Duterte has also launched a crackdown on civil society, threatening to abolish the Human Rights Commission, banning news organisations that are critical of him, attacking UN envoys and, more recently, withdrawing from the International Criminal Court.

Only last week another outspoken critic of President Duterte's war on drugs Maria Ressa, a veteran journalist and CEO of the Philippines news organisation Rappler, has now also become a victim of the crackdown. Putting the issue in perspective, an emotional Ressa outside a Manila court last week said:

It's about two things: abuse of power and the weaponisation of the law. What we are seeing is death by a thousand cuts to our democracy.

In comparison to Ressa's case, the treatment of Senator De Lima is far worse. Senator De Lima, a prominent Filipino lawyer and staunch human rights defender, has been incarcerated for two years, based on trumped up and no doubt politically motivated charges. The recent UN Working Group against Arbitrary Detention carried out a thorough investigation of her situation. The working group concluded that:

Ms De Lima's deprivation of liberty resulted from her personal convictions and public statements regarding extrajudicial killings in the Philippine … the authorities have displayed an attitude towards where which can only be characterised as targeted and discriminatory.

Here in Australia, the Philippine community has made enormous contributions to the fabric of our nation. As such, we don't see events in the Philippines as impacting on people in some faraway place but rather as affecting those that we regard as extended family. Therefore I reiterate my call for fairness and decency to be afforded to the people of the Philippines and urge the government of the Philippines to release Senator De Lima from her incarceration and allow her to properly continue her work as a senator. (Time expired)

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