Join #CourageON: No Lockdown on Rights, a coalition on human rights

The human rights situation in the Philippines is dire, with the number of extrajudicial killings, illegal arrests, and attacks against activists and critics unparalleled since the fall of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986.

This is further exacerbated by the government’s inadequate and militarized response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Failed contact tracing, confusing protocols, delayed assistance to those who needed it most, lack of transparency, and a slow vaccine rollout – all these have led to the abuse of basic human rights: the right to live, to work, to study, and to be protected by the state.

What can we do?

Several human rights groups and organizations have banded together for the “#CourageON: No Lockdown on Rights” coalition led by Rappler’s civic engagement arm MovePH. The coalition aims to keep watch over abuses and violations, as well as identify opportunities for collective action to promote and defend human rights.

Through this coalition, we aim to build a community that will be ready to drum up noise and put pressure on relevant authorities and institutions to address urgent and life-threatening cases. The coalition will also help us put together a menu of actions collating the efforts of various human rights groups in one platform. This can be found below.

#CourageON is part of a broader coalition under MovePH named #PHVote, which focuses on promoting avenues for civic participation in the coming elections, helping increase voter registration and turnout, and fighting election-related disinformation.

How can I be a part of the #CourageON coalition?

Organizations may express their interest to join the coalition by emailing move.ph@rappler.com. MovePH conducts a regular onboarding with partners twice a month.

The coalition has eight clusters: legal and academe, gender, youth and children, environment, health, media and artists, religion, and marginalized groups. Groups whose advocacies or demographics fall under any of the clusters are welcome to join. 

Individuals interested in volunteer work in the coalition and getting access to opportunities to take action on human rights protection can sign up to become a Mover here.

As a Mover, you won’t only be part of the MovePH community and platform, you’ll also get to build your skills in writing and organizing along with other like-minded individuals.

What it means to be part of the coalition

Members of the coalition meet regularly at a general assembly scheduled on the first week of every month.

Aside from taking part in brainstorming sessions and meetings, member-organizations can contribute to the coalition by doing any of the following:

• Share relevant efforts, alerts, initiatives, and events that can be consolidated in the coalition’s menu of actions via Rappler’s developing stories page
• Amplify initiatives and efforts of coalition members
• Collaborate and align with members of the coalition on similar efforts
• Lead and organize activities, in partnership with the coalition

Who are part of the coalition?

As of posting, the multi-sectoral coalition has more than 60 member-organizations, with eight clusters focused on fostering collaborations among groups with similar advocacies or audiences. Here are the members of the coalition, to date, according to clusters.

Legal and academe

• Ateneo Human Rights Center
• BALAOD Mindanaw
• Commission on Human Rights
• Karapatan
• National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers
• Rainbow Rights Philippines
• UP Paralegal Volunteers’ Organization
• Xavier University Center for Legal Assistance

Environment

• Greenpeace Philippines
• Kalikasan
• Living Laudato Si Philippines
• Philippine Movement for Climate Justice

Health

• Coalition for People’s Right to Health
• Juan Health PH

Youth and children

• 2030 Youth Force Philippines
• Akbayan Youth
• Buklod CSSP
• Center for Youth Advocacy and Networking
• De La Salle University Student Government
• ECPAT Philippines
• Global Shapers Iloilo Hub
• IDEALS Incorporated
• Likha Pahinarya
• National Union of Students of the Philippines
• UP Diliman University Student Council
• We the Future PH

Media and artists

• Aktor PH
• College Editors Guild of the Philippines
• Concerned Artists of the Philippines
• DAKILA
• Foundation for Media Alternatives
• Furball
• National Union of Journalists of the Philippines
• Now You Know
• Philippine Collegian

Religion

• Caritas Philippines

Gender

• ASEAN SOGIE Caucus
• Bahaghari
• GANDA Filipinas
• Ka Ilongga organization
• Metro Manila Pride
• Mindanao Pride
• Philippine Anti-Discrimination Alliance of Youth Leaders (PANTAY)
• Pioneer Filipino Transgender men Movement
• Transman Equality and Awareness Movement 
• UP Babaylan

Marginalized groups

• Ako Bakwit
• Alyansa ng Kabataang Mindanao para sa Kapayapaan (AKMK)
• Human Rights Online Philippines
• iDEFEND
• Laban ng Masa
• LILAK (Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights)
• PAMALAKAYA
• Save San Roque

Highlights of the coalition’s efforts

Aside from amplifying and collating the work of member-organizations, the coalition also uses its wide-reaching platform to speak up on human rights abuses during the pandemic and demand action.

The more comprehensive list of efforts done by the coalition can be found in this page. Some of the highlights of the coalition’s work include the following:

• Unity statement on the 1st anniversary of the anti-terror law
• Unity statement urging the Duterte government to cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) drug war probe
• A guide for victims of Duterte’s war on drugs on how they can send their representations to the ICC
• Over 70 organizations call Duterte admin’s performance a ‘failure’
• ‘Palpak’: Filipinos assess Duterte’s policies, efforts the past 5 years

The coalition has also led events tackling human rights issues with its member-organizations:

– Rappler.com