MANILA, Philippines — More than a hundred organizations from over 20 countries have expressed solidarity with an officer of human rights group Karapatan, who received threats of death and rape during the International Human Rights Day 2019 celebration.
Karapatan Secretary-General Cristina Palabay last December 10 said she received a phone call and a series of hostile texts from an unknown number, containing praises for President Rodrigo Duterte and threats of rape against her.
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“He was asking where I live and said all the worst possible things that he/they will do to me,” Palabay posted on social media, uploading screen captures of the said messages.
RELATED: Karapatan officer claims getting death threats on International Human Rights Day
A solidarity statement for Palabay led by the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development has collected at least 114 endorsements from organizations in Asia, Africa, Australia. Europe, North America and South America.
APWLD, together with 140 organisations, express our solidarity with @karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay and all Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) who are subjected to the relentless attacks by the #Philippines government.#HandsOffWHRDs https://t.co/LBiXhx1vKd
— APWLD (@apwld) January 20, 2020
The groups said that the attacks experienced by Palabay are gender-based and only part of an alarming global observation where female activists are targeted by sexist offenses.
“APWLD, together with the undersigned organizations, express our solidarity with Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay and all Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) who are subjected to the relentless and sexist attacks by a government which disregards its commitments to respect and uphold women and people’s rights,” reads the statement.
“This is a worrying trend that WHRDs from across the globe experience, and it is intensified under the banner of authoritarian governments.”
The document has since been sent to the Office of the President, Department of Justice, Department of National Defense, Commission on Human Rights, and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.
We have sent our solidarity statement to President of Philippines, Department of Justice, Department of National Defense, National Commission on Human Rights, and Office of Presidential Advisor on Peace Processes.
Read the statement here: https://t.co/LBiXhx1vKd#HandsOffWHRDs https://t.co/iW4AH0Y2tS pic.twitter.com/fwlnxSnID2— APWLD (@apwld) January 23, 2020
The endorsing organizations are based in countries like Thailand, Pakistan, Fiji, Bangladesh, Congo, Argentina, United Kingdom, Canada, Kyrgyzstan, India, Taiwan, Nepal, Indonesia, United States, South Korea, Maldives, India, Mexico, Colombia, Australia, Uganda, Nepal, Hong Kong, Netherlands, and Portugal, among others.
“The rise of sexist threats, including messages that incite rape, are indications that women’s rights remain a consistent battleground, especially when our own governments perpetuate and tolerate such attacks against women human rights defenders. We are gravely concerned about Cristina’s safety and demand a stop to these attacks against her,” reads the statement.
“As Cristina was labeled a ‘prostitute’ for her work as a human rights defender, we assail attempts to reduce women as mere sexual objects, and to erase what they have been fighting for: equality, human rights, justice and accountability.”
'Just playing victim'
Meanwhile, a ranking official of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict downplayed Palabay’s claims, saying she was only playing victim and trying to be relevant during the observation of International Human Rights Day.
“You alleged to have received death threats by phone and through text messages from anonymous civilians. Are you willing to submit your phone for forensics for us to determine where those threats came from? We are very sure its another case of 'threaten me,'" Maj. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines Deputy Chief-of-Staff for Civil-Military Operations, was quoted as saying in a Philippine News Agency report in December.
The military officer subsequently accused the Karapatan official of being affiliated with the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army.
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Here is the full list of signatory organizations