Has justice been given to the victims of human rights violations? Are the moves of the Philippine government to resolve cases of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances enough? What is the current situation and future of human rights in the Philippines?
These are the questions that Hong Kong groups will answer in the Second HK Mission for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines from October 16 to 22 organized by the HK Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (HKCAHRPP). The first fact finding mission visited the country in July 2006.
According to Rey Asis, co-convenor of the network, the second mission is being sent to the Philippines in order to determine the developments in the human rights situation in the country that have for years earned the ire of the international community.
"International and national pressure have been exerted and promises of the government have been made. Now is the time to collect," he added.
Among the participants of the HK Mission 2 are the Hon. Leung Kwok-Hung, a member of the HK Legislative Council, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), the Justice and Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese, Asian Monitor Resource Center (AMRC), Asian Center for the Progress of Peoples (ACPP), Asian Students Associtaion (ASA), Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM), and the Hong Kong Federation of Christian Students (HKFCS). Some members of the HK media will also come to document the mission and the human rights issues in the country.
Asis relayed that they have sent requests for meetings with some government agencies, including the Department of Justice, Task Force Usig and the National Commission on Human Rights. They are also hoping to see Supreme Court Justice Reynato Puno with whom some fact finding mission members had a meeting this year in Hong Kong.
"More importantly, we shall meet with families of victims of human rights violations to know what has been done to the cases of their loved ones and how they view their situation. We'll meet some of those we interviewed last year in July as well as families of more recent victims," he said.
The group shall release its report soon after the conclusion of the fact finding mission.
"The HK Mission 2 is part of our commitment for justice to be rendered to the victims, for human rights abuses to be stamped out and for the promotion of a just and lasting peace in the country. With this mission, we aim to shed more light on the burning issue of human rights violations in the Philippines," Asis concluded.
These are the questions that Hong Kong groups will answer in the Second HK Mission for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines from October 16 to 22 organized by the HK Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (HKCAHRPP). The first fact finding mission visited the country in July 2006.
According to Rey Asis, co-convenor of the network, the second mission is being sent to the Philippines in order to determine the developments in the human rights situation in the country that have for years earned the ire of the international community.
"International and national pressure have been exerted and promises of the government have been made. Now is the time to collect," he added.
Among the participants of the HK Mission 2 are the Hon. Leung Kwok-Hung, a member of the HK Legislative Council, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), the Justice and Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese, Asian Monitor Resource Center (AMRC), Asian Center for the Progress of Peoples (ACPP), Asian Students Associtaion (ASA), Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM), and the Hong Kong Federation of Christian Students (HKFCS). Some members of the HK media will also come to document the mission and the human rights issues in the country.
Asis relayed that they have sent requests for meetings with some government agencies, including the Department of Justice, Task Force Usig and the National Commission on Human Rights. They are also hoping to see Supreme Court Justice Reynato Puno with whom some fact finding mission members had a meeting this year in Hong Kong.
"More importantly, we shall meet with families of victims of human rights violations to know what has been done to the cases of their loved ones and how they view their situation. We'll meet some of those we interviewed last year in July as well as families of more recent victims," he said.
The group shall release its report soon after the conclusion of the fact finding mission.
"The HK Mission 2 is part of our commitment for justice to be rendered to the victims, for human rights abuses to be stamped out and for the promotion of a just and lasting peace in the country. With this mission, we aim to shed more light on the burning issue of human rights violations in the Philippines," Asis concluded.
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