Ottawa, February 9, 2018

The Honourable , Minister of Foreign Affairs The Honourable Harjit Singh Sajjan, Minister of National Defence The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of International Trade

Re: Government of Canada sale of helicopters to the Government of the

Honourable Ministers:

We, Canadian civil society organizations working with human rights organizations and human rights defenders in the Philippines, are writing to express our deep concern regarding the sale of sixteen helicopters to the Philippine Air Force. Given the numerous human rights violations documented in the Philippines by international human rights organizations, we think there is a serious risk that this equipment will be used by the Armed Forces of the Philippines for unlawful executions. We welcome the government’s announcement on February 7 that it would review this sale. In the absence of adequate human rights safeguards, the sale should be cancelled. The sale of the helicopters comes at a very dangerous time. President Rodrigo Duterte has instructed the military and police to go on an all-out war against the New People’s Army, but is also cracking down on activists following his cancellation of the Peace Talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines in November 2017. This has resulted in a new spate of extrajudicial killings, daily arrests of human rights defenders and intensive military operations, including aerial bombings on civilian communities.

A reported statement by Philippine Major-General Restituto Padilla that the helicopters Canada contracted to sell to the Philippines in December 2017 will be used for military internal security operations1 makes us profoundly worried about the impact of the sale for civilians. These internal security operations have been used to falsely justify systematic and escalating violence against citizens, communities and human rights defenders over the past few years. The Philippine National Police (PNP) assert that 3,968 drug suspects died in “legitimate police operations” from July 2016 to January 17, 2018. However, independent estimates of deaths linked to the “drug war” are considerably higher. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines estimates that there have been more than 13,000 killings linked to the anti-drug campaign. The human rights group Karapatan has documented 126 victims of political killings and 272 illegal arrest and detention of activists. Military counter-insurgency operations that include aerial bombings have resulted to the displacement of 426,590, mostly from farming and indigenous communities.

President Duterte’s hostile rhetoric about human rights defenders, combined with his encouragement of extra-judicial killings and guarantees of impunity has resulted in a serious

1 Financial Post. February 6, 2018. Human-rights concerns loom over sale of Canadian helicopters to the Philippines. http://business.financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/human-rights-concerns-loom-over-sale-of- canadian-helicopters-to-the-philippines

1 deterioration in the situation for human rights defenders in the country. These human rights concerns were recognized by Prime Minister Trudeau and raised with Philippine President Duterte during the ASEAN meetings in the Philippines in November 2017.2

We welcome the Government of Canada’s commitments to promote and protect global human rights. The new Feminist International Assistance Policy has a human rights-based approach. Canada has adopted guidelines for human rights defenders and has recently enhanced staff training resources to ensure their implementation. Most recently, the government created a Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, the first of its kind in the world, to investigate allegations of human rights abuses linked to Canadian corporate activity abroad. Moreover, Canada has now a National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, which involves the co- operation of multiple government departments including National Defence.

However, the sale of the helicopters to the government of the Philippines could seriously undermine Canada’s efforts to protect human rights. Without safeguard measures in place to assess the human rights impact of this procurement agreement, it could render the government of Canada complicit in grave human rights violations in the Philippines.

Unless and until clear and binding measures are in place to monitor the use of these helicopters, and to ensure that no military equipment provided by Canada is used by the government of the Philippines against civilians, we call on the Government of Canada to cancel this agreement.

Sincerely,

Canadian Council for International Co-operation Canadian Union of Public Employees International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines-Canada International Coalition on Human Rights in the Philippines - Toronto United Church of Canada Études contemporaines et transdisciplinaires de l’Asie du Sud-Est, Université de Montréal Development and Peace – Caritas Canada Unifor Public Service Alliance of Canada The Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development Inter Pares KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives Nobel Women’s Initiative Mining Watch Canada Canadian Jesuits International Comité pour les droits humains en Amérique latine

2 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-asean-summit/duterte-berates-canadas-trudeau-at-end-of-philippines- summit-idUSKBN1DE0JE

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United Steelworkers Ontario Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines Centre for Philippine Concerns/Centre d'appui aux Philippines Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights Femmes de diverses origines/Women of Diverse Origins Migrante – Canada Migrante – Ontario Migrante – Manitoba Migrante Alberta Migrante - British Columbia Philippine Migrants Society of Canada – Ottawa Anakbayan Canada Anakbayan – Toronto Anakbayan – Montreal Filipino Indigenous Peoples Organization in Quebec PINAY - Filipino Women's Organization in Quebec Filipino Parents Support Group Beaconsfield Initiative Sisters Trust

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