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.
[pdf-embedder url=”https://staging.cooperation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/APWG_Letter_to_Minister_Freeland.pdf”]