This report documents how the two successive governments of President Duterte and President Marcos Jr. have weaponized digital tools, misinformation and a flawed anti-terrorism law to create a climate of fear and intimidation amongst young human rights defenders in the Philippines. The central element in this coordinated campaign of state violence is the practice of “red-tagging”, through which leading political figures and state security actors have vilified human rights defenders, student activists, teachers, journalists and others as “Communist rebels” and “terrorists”, inciting hatred and violence. This report is an urgent call to end to state actors’ attacks on young human rights defenders.
- Index Number
- ASA 35/8574/2024
- Pages
- 12
- Published in
- United Kingdom
Files
Table of Contents
- CONTENTS 3
- GLOSSARY 5
- 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6
- 2. METHODOLOGY 11
- 3. BACKGROUND 13
- 3.1 RED-TAGGING AND THE INSTRUMENTALIZATION OF DOMESTIC CONFLICT 13
- 3.2 PRESIDENT DUTERTE AND THE WHOLE OF NATION APPROACH STATE VIOLENCE IN THE NAME OF BUILDING PEACE 15
- 3.3 THE ANTI-TERRORISM ACT OF 2020 16
- 3.4 STUDENT AND YOUTH ACTIVISM IN THE PHILIPPINES 17
- 4. INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS FRAMEWORK 20
- 4.1 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION RIGHT OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY 20
- 4.2 RIGHT TO PRIVACY 23
- 4.3 RIGHT TO LIBERTY AND SECURITY OF PERSON 23
- 4.4 RIGHT TO HEALTH 24
- 4.5 CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY TO RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS 25
- 5. STATE ACTORS REFRAMING OF YOUTH ACTIVISM AS TERRORISM 27
- 5.1 ONLINE RED-TAGGING MAKING THE STATES NARRATIVE GO VIRAL 27
- 5.2 OFFLINE RED-TAGGING INCIDENTS 31
- 5.3 ONLINE PROFILING AND OFFLINE SURVEILLANCE AND INTIMIDATION 33
- 5.4 MISUSE OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM WEAPONIZING THE ANTI-TERROR ACT AGAINST YOUTH ACTIVISTS 35
- 5.5 THE COUNTER-REVOLUTION WILL BE TELEVISED DISAPPEARANCES COERCION AND STAGED RESURFACING 39
- 5.6 DROWNING OUT CRITICAL VOICES WITH TECH CYBER-ATTACKS ON MEDIA AND HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS 41
- 5.7 STATE VIOLENCE AND THE HARMS INFLICTED ON YOUNG HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AND PHILIPPINE SOCIETY 43
- 5.8 GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN THE CONTEXT OF STATE-SPONSORED DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE 45
- 6. STATE HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS WITHOUT TEETH 49
- 7. FACEBOOKS ROLE IN SPREADING AND AMPLIFYING RED-TAGGING AND HARASSMENT 52
- 7.1 METAS HUMAN RIGHTS DUE DILIGENCE AROUND RED-TAGGING IN THE PHILIPPINES 52
- 7.2 RED-TAGGING ADS ON FACEBOOK 58
- 7.3 FACEBOOKS FAILING HUMAN RIGHTS DUE DILIGENCE POSES UNACCEPTABLE RISKS TO HRDS 61
- 8. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 63
- AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL IS A GLOBAL MOVEMENT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. WHEN INJUSTICE HAPPENS TO ONE PERSON IT MATTERS TO US ALL. 74
