VZCZCXRO1654
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHML #0494/01 0650759
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 060759Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3422
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS IMMEDIATE
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/CDRUSPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MANILA 000494 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MTS 
LABOR FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM ELAB KFRD RP
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR ENGAGES GOVERNMENT, CIVIL SOCIETY ON 
HUMAN RIGHTS 
 
REF: A. MANILA 0365 (NEW PEACE PROCESS ADVISER 
        OPTIMISTIC ABOUT FUTURE TALKS WITH REBELS) 
     ¶B. 08 MANILA 2732 (HUMAN RIGHTS DATA IMPROVES BUT 
        CIVIL SOCIETY STILL CRITICAL) 
     ¶C. 08 MANILA 2103 (DEMONSTRATING COMMITMENT TO STOP 
        KILLINGS) 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: (SBU) Mindful of broad concern among domestic and 
foreign observers about the human rights situation in the 
Philippines, the Ambassador in the first two months of 2009 
embarked on a concentrated effort to engage government and 
civil society audiences on human rights issues, and listen to 
their views about the current environment.  The participation 
of the Ambassador and other senior Mission officials in 
several events over six weeks demonstrated high-level U.S. 
support for the Philippine government's human rights 
mechanisms, and also highlighted U.S. support for the role of 
civil society in promoting and protecting human rights in the 
Philippines.  A key focus of the Ambassador's engagement is 
to identify proactive strategies that have achieved success 
and share that knowledge with others.  The events included 
the launching of a U.S.-supported human rights database at 
the Commission on Human Rights, a roundtable with civil 
society human rights advocates, a U.S.-sponsored forum on the 
role of journalists in promoting peace in the southern 
Philippines, a major policy speech at the Philippines 
Military Academy graduation, and a U.S.-funded training 
seminar focused on human rights for young prosecutors.  The 
Ambassador's plan for aggressive engagement will continue 
into the second quarter, to include U.S.-sponsored training 
on human rights for police and military.  END SUMMARY. 
 
HELPING THE GOVERNMENT TRACK HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶2. (SBU) At a January 26 event at the Philippine Commission 
on Human Rights (CHR), the Ambassador delivered remarks to 
launch a nationwide database that tracks investigations of 
human rights abuses.  Three grants over six years from USAID 
and the Bureau of Democracy, Rights, and Labor (DRL) 
supported the work of The Asia Foundation on this project. 
The database enables CHR national headquarters, CHR regional 
offices, and civil society groups to document, report, and 
monitor cases of human rights violations through a web-based 
interface.  Adapted from open-source human rights software, 
the system permits immediate information sharing between the 
CHR and cooperative civil society groups, critical for 
disappearance and extrajudicial killing cases, which become 
more difficult to solve over time.  The Ambassador commended 
the CHR for its commitment to protect and promote the human 
rights of Filipinos, and called attention to the need to 
strengthen judicial and law enforcement institutions so that 
they can more effectively hold human rights violators 
accountable.  The Ambassador's remarks were widely and 
favorably reported in the press. 
 
BRINGING HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES TOGETHER 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Challenging civil society groups to focus on 
positive ways to foment change, the Ambassador hosted a 
February 4 dialogue at her residence with a dozen leaders 
from groups active in human rights, including the Integrated 
Bar of the Philippines, the Ateneo Human Rights Center, and 
the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights.  Participants 
shared their organizations' best practices with the 
Ambassador and each other, noting certain strategies as 
particularly effective: heavy lobbying in both chambers of 
the Philippine Congress for human rights legislation; 
analyzing gaps between laws and their implementation to look 
for weaknesses in human rights protections; providing 
financial assistance to victims' families to dissuade them 
from dropping cases; creating networks of paralegals and 
local human rights defenders; deputizing legal aid volunteers 
as prosecutors through agreements with local governments; and 
maintaining comprehensive and precise documentation for all 
human rights investigations.  The Ambassador acknowledged the 
challenges of working on human rights issues in the 
Philippines, and encouraged participants to focus on 
achieving positive outcomes in their work and seek ways 
around political and legal obstacles.  This strategy, she 
said, appeared to be more effective at producing results than 
public campaigns that blame the government, a tactic employed 
by some NGOs. 
 
 
MANILA 00000494  002 OF 003 
 
 
SUPPORTING HUMAN RIGHTS JOURNALISM IN MINDANAO 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶4. (SBU) Demonstrating U.S. support for a responsible 
Philippine press, the Ambassador addressed a Manila audience 
of journalists and journalism students at a February 10 forum 
on the role of the media in the Mindanao peace process.  The 
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, a DRL grantee, hosted 
the event, whose panel featured journalists and official 
members of government and rebel negotiating teams.  The 
panelists shared many of the same concerns: the general 
ignorance among journalists about the history of Mindanao, 
the excessive use of the label "Muslim terrorists" when 
referring to acts committed by lawless groups, and the need 
to strike a balance between transparency and secrecy in peace 
negotiations, because an uninformed press is more likely to 
speculate and be inaccurate in its reporting.  A peace panel 
member suggested that journalists who assign blame for the 
Philippines' current troubles to its former colonizers should 
recognize that the conflict in Mindanao is a Philippine 
problem.  The press, he emphasized, have an important role to 
play in changing those perceptions and ending the conflict. 
In brief remarks, the Ambassador noted that journalists can 
have a positive impact on the quest for peace by holding 
themselves to the highest standards of integrity and 
accuracy. 
 
AT THE MILITARY ACADEMY, URGING RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) In her February 20 address at the Philippine 
Military Academy (PMA) in Baguio (septel), the Ambassador 
congratulated nearly 300 graduating officers and 600 lower 
classmen on their achievement, encouraged them to bring 
innovation and discipline to their careers, and emphasized to 
them the importance of upholding human rights and embracing 
democracy.  PMA graduates are considered to be the nation's 
elite, and many spend their careers in government service, 
some eventually assuming high ranking positions where they 
may have influence on government human rights policies.  In 
her remarks, the Ambassador said that even while the 
Philippine and U.S. militaries serve with dedication in areas 
of conflict, we must all continue to hold ourselves and 
others accountable as we work to expand human rights and 
create a world that respects these rights.  Acknowledging our 
two countries' long, shared history, the Ambassador noted 
that our nations' close cooperation continues to demonstrate 
our shared values, including through joint humanitarian 
assistance projects conducted throughout the Philippines, 
which have become increasingly effective in offsetting 
terrorist elements in the country. 
 
IMPROVING HUMAN RIGHTS AWARENESS AMONG PROSECUTORS 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶6. (SBU) On February 20, Acting PolCouns delivered remarks on 
the importance of police-prosecutor cooperation in solving 
human rights cases at a USAID-sponsored basic orientation for 
Philippine prosecutors in Iloilo, organized by The Asia 
Foundation.  The remarks at the seminar's graduation ceremony 
capped five days of intense training covering court 
procedures, evidence, and ethics, among other topics.  Case 
studies of extrajudicial killings were used to illustrate the 
concepts, while the moot court session on the final day was 
based on a fictional case of extrajudicial killing. 
 
COMMENT: PROMOTING HUMAN RIGHTS IS A MISSION-WIDE ENDEAVOR 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) While the Mission takes advantage of special events 
to deliver focused messages on human rights, Mission 
engagement on the issue is an ingrained part of many U.S. 
programs in the Philippines.  Through courses sponsored by 
the U.S. Department of Justice International Criminal 
Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP), the 
Anti-Terrorism Assistance (ATA) Program, and the Joint U.S. 
Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG), U.S. instructors deliver 
human rights training to police and military personnel from 
across the Philippines.  A mid-March military law exchange 
hosted by PACOM for 10 Philippine military and civilian 
officials will include a workshop on the concept of command 
responsibility and its connection to extrajudicial killings. 
On the law enforcement side, Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement and the Consular Section's Fraud Prevention Unit 
cooperate and coordinate with Philippine authorities to 
 
MANILA 00000494  003 OF 003 
 
 
apprehend perpetrators of human rights abuses and human 
trafficking.  With regard to development assistance, USAID 
programs valued at over USD 2 million support the Philippine 
government's effort to respond more effectively to human 
rights abuses, including through judicial reform.  Even as 
our 2008 Human Rights Report on the Philippines noted a 
decline in the number of killings and disappearances from the 
previous year, the Mission continues to push the government, 
both publicly and privately, to take more aggressive action 
to improve its capacity to protect the rights of its citizens. 
 
KENNEY