HANS KOECHLER POLITICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

RESOLUTION NO. 08-02

Requesting and Nominating Dr. Hans Koechler of Innsbruck University and of the International Progress Organization (I.P.O.)

to Represent the Hans Koechler Political and Philosophical Society, Inc.,

and transmit to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, and other appropriate UN agencies,

A Call for these International Bodies to Look Into the Worsening State of the Indigenous Peoples of the Philippines and to Intervene and Draw the Attention of the Philippine Government to Decisively Implement its Domestic Laws on, or affecting, Indigenous Peoples and to Fully Adhere to, and Respect the United Nations Declarations on Human Rights and on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

WHEREAS, the Philippine Government is a member-state of the United Nations and a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Covenant on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination;

WHEREAS, the Philippine Government has affirmed its commitment to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on 13 September 2007;

Recognizing that these Covenants and Declarations affirm, as a matter of international concern, that there is an urgent need to respect and promote all human rights, collective, and inherent rights of the Indigenous Peoples enshrined in formal agreements, legislation, administrative regulations, and other arrangements with their State;

Recognizing further that these Covenants and Declarations specifically emphasize that their State shall prevent any action which has the aim or effect of dispossessing the Indigenous Peoples of their lands, territories, and natural resources;

Bearing in mind that all human rights, collective, and inherent rights of the Philippine Indigenous Peoples are also domestically protected by the Philippine Constitution and the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 (IPRA);

Convinced that despite laws being in place, the Philippine Government, through the years, has fallen short of its responsibility and has not made concrete steps to uphold all human rights, collective, and inherent rights of the Philippine Indigenous Peoples;

Evidenced by various reports such as Philippine Reports of the Official Missions of the United Nations by Special Rapporteurs Prof. Rodolfo Stavenhagen and Prof. Philip Alston, the Philippine Government has been reluctant to fully acknowledge the extent and seriousness of the human rights situation of the country;

Evidenced further by the United Nations Special Rapporteurs’ reports that the Philippine Government has no clear mechanisms on how the government will decisively implement the recommendations of the reports to arrest the escalating issues of human rights violations across the Philippines;

Documented in the various reports, are the hundreds of extra-judicial killings from the past and present administrations;

WHEREAS, as widely publicized, the founding member of a large Philippine Indigenous Peoples’ group (Cordillera Peoples Alliance) has been missing since 17 September 2008 (i.e. four days after the anniversary of the passage of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples), which is now a case of suspected “enforced disappearances” as alleged by some IP groups;

Showed in the various papers, that in the far south of the Philippines, the Atis – aborigines of the Panay Island, have been continuously displaced of their lands, territories, and resources to give way to tourist-attractive projects in their area;

NOW THEREFORE, the members of the Hans Koechler Political and Philosophical Society solemnly proclaim that the worsening condition of the Philippine Indigenous Peoples, with factual basis laid down above, be brought up to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, and to the Human Rights Council with the indispensable assistance of Dr. Hans Koechler.

PURSUANT HERETO, it is solemnly and earnestly requested that Dr. Hans Koechler ask the Economic and Social Council and other organs of the United Nations, to look into the worsening condition of the Philippine Indigenous Peoples, and to intervene and draw the attention of the Philippine Government to decisively implement its domestic laws on Indigenous Peoples, and to fully adhere to the United Nations Declarations on Human Rights, and on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Unanimously approved and adopted on the 13^th of December 2008 in Quezon City, Philippines, in culmination of the presentation by concerned representatives of affected sectors before the HKPPS general membership and guests.

ATTESTED BY:

FATEMAH REMEDIOS C. BALBIN Ph. D.

President and Chairman, HKPPS

Prof. ABDULHUSIN M. KASHIM

Secretary of the Meeting

Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, 13 December 2008