International Fact-Finding Mission Releases Report on Extrajudicial Killings of Legal Professionals in the Philippines
Documents Systematic Campaign of Human Rights Violations Against Lawyers, Judges and Prosecutors Between 2016-2023
A coalition of international legal organizations today released a comprehensive report documenting a systematic campaign of lethal violence and intimidation against legal professionals in the Philippines during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte.
The report, titled “Black Robes, Red Targets,” describes how dozens of lawyers, judges, prosecutors, and paralegals were subjected to threats, harassment and extrajudicial killings between 2016 and 2023. The findings contribute to a growing body of evidence of human rights violations committed in the Philippines during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, particularly in parallel with his “war on drugs” campaign in which thousands of civilians were killed. Duterte is currently detained at the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of murder as a crime against humanity.
The findings are based on a fact-finding mission conducted from June 4-14, 2024, referred to as “Caravana Filipina,” composed of representatives of ten international legal organizations (listed below), including the New York City Bar Association.
Systematic Pattern of Intimidation and Violence
As the “war on drugs” campaign in the Philippines unfolded, human rights defenders seeking to hold the government accountable for human rights violations became targets themselves, with lawyers, paralegals, judges, and prosecutors subjected to threats, harassment and even extrajudicial killings just for carrying out their professional duties.
The report identifies an escalating pattern of intimidation and violence against legal professionals, beginning with surveillance, followed by “red-tagging” (branding individuals as communist or terrorist sympathizers), politically motivated legal harassment (aka “lawfare”), and ultimately extrajudicial killings.
Targeted assassinations were found to be premeditated, organized and carried out through a recurring and identifiable modus operandi. “These killings are not isolated events; they are often preceded by the abovementioned forms of harassment, creating a clear escalation pattern,” the report states. “Most attacks are executed by two individuals on a motorcycle – commonly referred to as ‘riding in tandem’ – with no registered license plates and wearing full-face helmets to conceal their identities. These killings frequently occur in public spaces, in broad daylight, often in the presence of multiple witnesses and functioning CCTV cameras.”
Calls for Urgent Action
The report makes extensive recommendations to the Philippine government to ensure, among other things, judicial independence, protection of lawyers and human rights defenders, proper criminal investigations, government accountability, and support for civil society.
A Salute to the Filipino Legal Community
“The findings in this report paint a stark picture of the immense toll inflicted on Filipino legal professionals, their families and the country’s legal community as a whole,” the report states. “Yet, amid this climate of fear and impunity, the various Filipino legal professionals we met and who are engaged in public interest work have remained steadfast in their commitment to social justice and human rights, displaying extraordinary resilience and dedication in the face of adversity. Padayon! (Keep Going!) is not by chance the motto, in the Visayan dialect, of public interest lawyers from that region, and it embodies the spirit of this segment of the legal profession across the country.”
About the Mission
The Caravana Filipina was carried out by the ten organizations listed below. Rooted in the tradition of communal travel, the use of the term ‘Caravana’ symbolizes the physical and metaphorical movement of people uniting to confront challenges. The release of the report on June 4 is one year, to the day, since the start of the Caravana Filipina on June 4, 2024.
Associació Catalana per a la Defensa dels Drets Humans
Day of the Endangered Lawyer Foundation
European Association of Democratic Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights (ELDH)
European Democratic Lawyers (AED)
International Association of Lawyers’ Institute for the Rule of Law (UIA-IROL)
International Bar Association Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger (OIAD)
The Law Society of England and Wales
Read the report here: https://bit.ly/4kIWWoA
Watch a 20-minute film on the Caravana Filipina here.
About the New York City Bar Association
The mission of the New York City Bar Association, which was founded in 1870 and has over 20,000 members, is to equip and mobilize a diverse legal profession to practice with excellence, promote reform of the law, and uphold the rule of law and access to justice in support of a fair society and the public interest in our community, our nation, and throughout the world. www.nycbar.org