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

I would like to talk about the human rights issues that I see currently developing in the Philippines. I recently met with representatives of Human Rights Watch concerning developments in the Philippines, particularly in regard to extrajudicial killings. For the sake of political populism, in the recent Philippine election then presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte declared a so-called war on drugs, indicating his determination to reintroduce the death penalty. During the election campaign, Duterte issued a series of inflammatory statements directly contravening the Philippines international human rights obligations, including a promise to reduce crime by shooting suspects. He said that he would execute 100,000 criminals and dump them into Manila Bay. What is worse is that he won that election and now is making good on his promise. Since his election, over 3½ thousand people have already been subject to extrajudicial killings—not found as criminals, simply shot and killed. For those of us who believe in human rights and the importance of the rule of law, it is disturbing to see that a nation that we are particularly close to has political leaders that are so backward looking when considering the future of its people. For a predominantly Catholic country, one which abolished the death penalty in 2006 on human rights grounds, the reintroduction of this barbaric and archaic measure shows little vision in a civilised world.

In addition to this, the newly elected government's desire to lower the age of criminality from 15 to 12 years provides little hope of rehabilitating minors. The death penalty bill, by the way, was the first bill introduced by the Duterte administration. Impervious to international criticism and with a total disregard for the rule of law, last week President Duterte further infuriated many with his comment:

Hitler massacred three million Jews.

And 'there are three million drug addicts in the Philippines'. He went on to say:

I'd be happy to slaughter them.

To raise Hitler, a mass murderer, a person involved in genocide, in the way he has done, I think, shows little hope for international diplomacy from the Philippines.

A recent former death squad member testified before the Philippines Senate in regards to his involvement in the drug war in Davao city. The witness publicly named then Mayor Duterte as being behind the judicial killings in that principality. The senator chairing the inquiry, Senator de Lima, former justice secretary and a former chairperson of the Philippines Commission on Human Rights, has long campaigned against Duterte in respect to human rights violations. As a result of her stand on human rights, and no doubt her opposition to the current situation, she, herself, is now being subject to a campaign of intimidation and harassment.

It is important that we, as a nation that is committed to promoting human rights, particularly within our region, support those that are brave enough to make a stand and campaign against human rights violations, such as Senator de Lima. It is also important that we support organisations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International in their efforts to expose human rights violations wherever they occur. Where administrations bypass due process and ignore the rule of law, atrocities will occur, closely followed by corruption and, no doubt, a total lack of transparency. That is not what would be good for any developing country, particularly one such as the Philippines.

This week marks international World Day Against the Death Penalty and it is important that we make known our position on capital punishment let alone extrajudicial killings—what we see occurring in the Philippines. We do expect better from the Philippines, particularly as a country with which we share a very close bond and personal friendships. We need to show that violating human rights cannot and should not be tolerated in a civilised world.