Philippines: military activity seriously affecting the safety and wellbeing of rural communities in Surigao Del Sur

Anti-insurgency operations by the Philippine military are seriously compromising the economic, social and cultural rights of indigenous communities The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has received information from KARAPATAN - The Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights - a member of the SOS-Torture Network, concerning intensifying military activity in the area of Surigao del Sur, in the Philippines, in the context of counter-insurgency operations against the New People’s Army. In particular, OMCT is concerned at reports that around 500 military personnel from the 58th Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines have been stationed in and around the homes of members of Lumad indigenous communities since 4 November, 2007. OMCT wishes to draw attention both to the direct impact that this armed conflict has on the civilian populations of this area and to the serious implications for the social, economic, and cultural rights of the members of the affected communities. These communities already number among some of the poorest and most vulnerable in the Philippines. The disruption military operations cause to their living standards, their ability to provide food and safe housing for their families, and to their children’s education only serves to exacerbate their vulnerability.
OMCT is particularly concerned that civilians have been used as shields, schools and other buildings appropriated as military barracks, children questioned by soldiers, community members denied access to their fields, families forced to seek shelter in makeshift evacuation centres and individuals forcibly enrolled as military guides. The latest reports from KARAPATAN indicate that the build-up of troops is continuing, suggesting that the military operation will be a long one. OMCT calls for urgent action to ensure that the extensive human rights violations that took place in the context of similar military operations between April and May 2005 are not repeated. To prevent further human rights violations, OMCT calls upon the Government of the Philippines to ensure that its military fully respects the human rights of the men, women and children in every area in which it operates and to compensate individuals for any damage or loss caused by military operations.