COMMUNIQUE’ OF THE 3^RD IAPL CONGRESS
14 October 2006
Davao City, Philippines

The 3^rd Congress of the International Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL) was successfully held in Davao City from 12-14 October 2006. 7 people’s lawyers from Belgium, Brazil, India, Netherlands and Turkey and 1 activist law student from Afghanistan participated as foreign delegates.

17 people’s lawyers coming from different human rights law offices and groups from Cordillera, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao City, Iloilo and Metro Manila, comprised the Philippine delegation led by the Public Interest Law Center (PILC).

An additional 7 human rights lawyers from Bataan, Cotabato City, Davao City, Digos City and Panay in the Philippines joined as observers during the country reports and the discussion and adoption of resolutions.

Other human rights or people’s lawyers from Australia, Argentina, Canada, Columbia, Indonesia, Iraq, Germany, Iraq, Nepal, North Korea, Palestine, Syria, United Kingdom, and the United States could not make it due to unavailability of resources, conflicts of schedule or visa problems.

The National Host Secretariat was composed of volunteers coming from human rights and people’s organizations like the Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace (EMJP), the International League of  Peoples Struggle (ILPS)-Philippines, PILC, Counsels for the Defense of Liberties (CODAL), Bayan Muna (People First), Sentro para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (SENTRA), and the Pro-Labor Legal Assistance Center (PLACE).

The foreign delegates immediately visited the wake and strongly condemned the brutal murder of an activist bishop from the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (Philippine Independent Church), Alberto Ramento, who is the 763th victim of state terrorism.

They also visited the office of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP)-Nominated Section to the Joint Secretariat (JS) of the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) under the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) between the government and NDFP and were briefed about its work, the status of the peace negotiations, and the complaints filed.

The delegates expressed dismay at the non-convening of the JMC due to the refusal of the government to address the hundreds of complaints and to jointly form fact-finding missions to look into the spate of disappearances of activists and peace negotiators and some specific cases of summary executions perpetrated by forces linked to the government.

In Davao City, they were met by the Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM) and were briefed about its work and the local human rights situation in Mindanao. The Local Host Secretariat was headed by UPLM and supported by the InPeace Mindanao and other volunteers from people’s organizations in Mindanao. Veteran human rights lawyer Atty. Fred Gapuz, UPLM Chairperson, welcomed the foreign and Filipino delegates.

PLACE, SENTRA, UPLM and individual people’s lawyers from Cordillera, Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao were admitted to be part of the official Philippine delegation upon recommendation by the PILC and its admission as members of the IAPL de-facto Philippine Chapter. Ms. Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Secretary-General of the Philippine human rights organization Karapatan, also attended in her capacity as Cooperator of IAPL.

The Presidium for the Congress was composed of Julio Moreira of Brazil, Raf Jespers of Belgium, and Edre U. Olalia of the Philippines.

The Congress took up the main points reached during the 2^nd Congress in Istanbul, Turkey, accepted the reports of the President, Secretariat and Treasurer, made a thorough and candid assessment of its work and activities during the past 3 years and made specific and concrete plans for the next 3 years particularly with respect to expansion work, organizational coordination and financial sourcing. Considering the need to organize more people’s lawyers, priority shall be given to real expansion work.

The Congress elected a new set of officers for the next 3 years: Olalia as President; Moreira as Vice-President; Jespers as Secretary-General; Dundar Gurses of Netherlands as Treasurer; and Hakan Karakus of Turkey as Auditor. Nepal and Afghanistan were also elected to sit in the Board of Governors with Honorary Chairperson Sebastian Pellisery of India.

IAPL Convenor and Founding Member Judge Romeo T. Capulong was elected to be IAPL’s first Eminent Person. The other foreign delegates were Jo Dereymaeker of Belgium, Samina Kabir of Afghanistan, Arzu Bozbey of the Netherlands, and Aliyah Elizabeth Brunner from Turkey.

The country delegates submitted and presented their respective country reports on the human rights situation, the responses of people’s lawyers and the prospects of organizing people’s lawyers. Common experiences were noted with respect to the onslaught of imperialist attacks; the evil effects of foreign intervention, occupation and aggression by the United States and other countries; the diminution of civil and political rights through existing and new repressive and fascist legislation through the so-called “anti-terrorism laws” and other measures and particularly on minorities and immigrants; as well as the physical and political attacks on people’s lawyers.

Various resolutions were proposed by the country delegations and adopted by consensus by the Congress including supporting the struggle for democracy and against fundamentalism  and against the attacks on prominent member of Parliament,  Malalai Joya and other women victims of state terror from Afghanistan; the launching of a campaign by progressive lawyers to repeal and stop anti-terrorism laws in Europe from Belgium and the Netherlands; an urgent and immediate appeal to the Indian President to stop the impending execution of Mohd. Afzal Guru. The Congress likewise adopted resolutions from Turkey that condemned the continuing torture and isolation F-type prison cells, the repressive new executive penal code and the US attacks especially on civilians in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon.

The IAPL also adopted 6 resolutions from Brazil on the political accusations, attacks or court sentences against Albenzio Dias de Carvalho, a labor leader, a peasant leader named Wenderson dos Santos, and an anti-imperialist student Barbara Flores as well as the threat and conviction of Ermogenes Jacinto de Sousa, a member of the People’s Lawyers Nucleus; on the oppression of students in protest against secretary of education implementing privatization of universities and the political killing of the Brazilian worker Jean Charles de Menezes in the United Kingdom.

The Philippine delegation proposed 10 resolutions which were adopted by consensus by the Congress. These are on political killings and enforced disappearances by forces identified with the government; the continuing attacks on Filipino lawyers especially those involved in human rights practice and advocacy; the repressive  anti-terror bill; the political persecution of labor leader Rep. Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran and his immediate release;  the resumption of the formal peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the NDFP and the convening of the JMC; on indigenous peoples’ rights and mining act; on the withdrawal of US troops out of Mindanao and the rest of the country; on the holding of an international fact-finding mission on the state of human rights violations in Mindanao; on the respect for the rights of Bangsamoro people; and on addressing the grievances of Bangsamoro people in the negotiations of the GRP with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The IAPL strongly condemned the brazen attacks and threats on Philippine law group PLACE noting that recent ones happened at the time it was in Congress. It will seek the intervention of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers and other local and international bar organization. The IAPL Congress strongly condemned and holds the Philippine government politically, morally and legally responsible for the continuing killings on civilians and its attempt to cover up its culpability. The government even passes the blame on the victims or to those in legitimate resistance to oppression and repression.

The IAPL will give special attention to the activities regarding the political killings in the Philippines. Its members will develop solidarity to help stop these killings.

The IAPL held a public forum on its Congress theme “The Role of Lawyers in Defending the Democratic Rights of the People”. Capulong delivered the Keynote Speech entitled “Defending People’s Rights Against Foreign Aggression and State Terrorism” wherein he also announced that on October 30 the relatives of the victims of political killings will indict the Arroyo government and Bush before the Permanent People’s Tribunal in The Netherlands for violation of human rights and international law, economic plunder and violation of the Filipino people’s right to national self-determination. Contributions on the 5 sub-themes were also given by the foreign and local delegates.

The foreign delegates will then talk with victims of human rights violations especially the relatives of the victims of summary executions and disappearances; share with an urban poor community; visit people’s law offices in Metro Manila especially PLACE which is presently under attack; and finally visit detained Anakpawis partylist representative Crispin Beltran.