Madam Chairperson, distinguished members of the Committee, in our view, the Canadian government must consider the precarious human rights situation in the Philippines. Launching accusations or being baselessly accused of communist affiliation undermines both civil society and the opposition. In the eyes of the Philippine state, this means carte blanche.
In addition, defenders of the ancestral domain, both Lumads and those who aim to protect the environment, figure prominently among the victims of extrajudicial killings. Defenders are in Mindanao, Negros, the Cordillera region, Palawan and Bataan province. Out of more than 227 victims of extrajudicial executions, half of them opposed mining projects, and a third were First Peoples of the Philippines.
In recent years, virulent rhetoric among the highest government officials, ranging from the president, to the army chief, to the Philippine National Police chief, caused deep and pervasive and damage. Some statements have reached the level of incitement to violence. This rhetoric ranges from degrading and sexually charged comments against women human rights defenders and politicians, including rape jokes; to inflammatory statements calling for the bombing of indigenous peoples who oppose development and mining activities; to messages that encourage extreme violence by calling for the beheading of civil society actors, warning journalists that they are not safe from assassination.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, noted sources of this rhetoric in her report. Canadian and Quebec chapters of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines noted the same in three of their reports.
I will now present our recommendations.
First, we recommend that, in all its negotiations and before making any investments, the Canadian government and Export Development Canada take into account human rights issues and First Peoples' rights issues associated with Canadian mining projects in the Philippines. It would be prudent for them to do the necessary due diligence before investing taxpayers' money in companies that may directly or indirectly violate human rights.
We also think it is important for the government to establish a committee and conduct independent policy reviews before investing in companies. In all the contracts EDC concludes with companies operating in the Philippines, include provisions to protect human rights, the environment and the principle of free, prior and informed consent.