CTR Reference No.

EIDHR/2020/420-642

Title of the project

Safeguarding Journalists and Human Rights Defenders in the Philippines

Implementing organisations

International Media Support

Project Location/s

Philippines

Operational Duration

(start date – end date of activities)

1 February 2021 to 31 July 2022 (pending application for a no cost extension to 30 October 2022)

Allocated budget

(EU contribution only)

EUR 245 441

Overall and Specific objectives (simplified – for publication)

The Action’s overall Objective is to defend and strengthen the freedom of expression and press freedom environment necessary for human rights defenders in the Philippines to operate without fear, report to maximum effect, and carry out their mandates.



The Action’s specific objective is to support the work of the media community and human rights defenders, strengthen and improve coordination among their combined networks, and enhance the constitutional and institutional protections and mechanisms necessary for their work and mandates. It will work to further develop and establish a sustainable nationally anchored mechanism, building on the Philippine Plan of Action for the Safety of Journalists (PPASJ) which was launched in November 2019.

Main target groups

Philippine media and journalists, their organisations and associations, HRDs, civil society organisations (CSOs), and the Commission on Human Rights. Partnerships and coordination with state enforcement agencies such as the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, local governments, and government task forces on media safety

Main activities (simplified – for publication)

Support for the PPASJ secretariat, specifically to expand its capacity to convene a multi-stakeholder coalition that will include the CHR and national HRD alliances;



Dialogues with key sectors and institutions;

Media advocacy campaigns to mobilize public support for the safety of journalists and HRDs.

Develop mandate and mechanisms with CHR and the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA);



Coordinate and expand existing data management systems on threats and attacks on media and HRDs;



Improve and create synergies between legal advice and defense programmes.



Dialogues, trainings, and exchanges between groups and sectors, including state enforcement agencies and government task forces, for best practices and competency sharing, and monitoring and data management, at national and regional levels.

Training, organizing, and synergizing provincial coordinator networks and Quick Response Teams;

 

Development of online and offline training resources on risk assessment and safety.

Sustainability of the Project

IMS support for the Secretariat of the PPASJ is designed not just for its internal and network management capacities; it is also envisioned to provide foundations and strategies for the secretariat – and the PPASJ – to generate continuing multisectoral support, from funders as well as from civil society and public institutions.

 

Target SDGs

The Action is responsive to SDG 10 which aims to reduce inequality, and to SDG 16, which aims is to promote peaceful and inclusive societies, while building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions and specifically 16.10, ensuring public access to information