20.08.2020

Statement on the death of Zara Alvarez

Human rights defender Zara Alvarez was shot dead by an unknown person in Bacolod City (Philippines) on the evening of 17 August 2020. For more than 25 years, the UEM communion of churches has been supporting the sisters and brothers of its member church, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), in their commitment to human rights. We are dismayed by the news of death and the fact that the life-threatening situation for people who are engaged in civil society for human rights has worsened even further in the Philippines.

In a joint statement with the members of Action Network Human Rights Philippines (Aktionsbündnis Menschenrechte Philippinen, AMP), the UEM has reacted to the murder and has also made demands on the Philippine government. In it, the UEM condemns the murder of Zara Alvarez and calls on the Philippine Government to bring the perpetrators to justice. In a first reaction, the Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, Bärbel Kofler, also calls on the Philippine Government to investigate the murder and to protect human rights defenders.

The UEM also condemns the fact that members of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, including bishops and pastors, are publicly branded as terrorists and thus declared to be virtually outlaws. Our thoughts are with the family of Zara Alvarez, who leaves behind a daughter.

The board (Management Team) of UEM