Eleven Democratic senators have asked Joe Biden’s administration to denounce the alleged continued pattern of human rights breaches under the Duterte government at the highest levels. Senators voiced concerns about the human rights situation in the Philippines in a letter dated July 26 sent to US State Secretary Antony Blinken, and asked a number of questions about the Biden administration’s policy regarding the Philippines and the present government.
“We write to express our continued concern about the human rights situation in the Philippines, and seek to better understand the Biden administration’s strategy for addressing the Duterte government’s continuing pattern of human rights violations. We urge the Biden administration to stand with the people of the Philippines as they continue to fight for their universal human rights. The State Department should condemn the aforementioned abuses at the highest levels in our diplomatic engagements with Philippine government representatives, as well as publicly.”
Senators led by Senator Ed Markey, the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, noted that maintaining a bilateral cooperation with a long-standing ally like the Philippines requires upholding shared values, such as the protection of human rights, including freedom of speech and press, and vibrant democratic governance.
In connection to Duterte’s deadly drug campaign, the senators highlighted claims of extrajudicial police misconduct. They also denounced new attacks against civil society, human rights activists, and the media, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The senators also raised concerns about assaults on opponents, journalists, and free speech, alleging that they were carried out to suppress dissent to or criticism of its heavy-handed policies.
The senators echoed Blinken’s concerns about the “global collapse of democracy” at his confirmation hearing in the US Senate, and even pledged to organize a global conference on democracy.
Washington Center For Human Rights supports the letter signed by the senators and call on Blinken to take actions in response to the systemic human rights violations and to consider sanctions against those responsible for these violations.