Statement in Support of Meggie Nolasco and the Talaingod 18
The Centre for Applied Human Rights (CAHR) stands in solidarity with former Fellow and current Advisory Board member, Meggie Nolasco and the other thirteen members of the Talaingod 18 who were unjustly convicted on 15 July 2024 for their peaceful activities defending the rights of indigenous people in the Philippines.
Meggie Nolasco has been an environmental and climate justice advocate and educator in remote indigenous communities in Mindanao, the southernmost region of the Philippines. She and 17 others, known as the Talaingod 18, were arrested in November 2018 whilst defending the rights of these communities. Non-governmental organisations and United Nations independent experts have long decried the criminalisation and judicial harassment of human rights defenders in the Philippines as a pattern employed to repress civic space. The present conviction appears designed to harass and vilify human rights defenders and to limit their vital human rights work. This case has profound implications for human rights and indigenous rights across the Philippines.
CAHR strongly condemns the unjust convictions of members of the Talaingod 18 group and the broader pattern of repression against human rights defenders in the Philippines.
- We call for an independent and impartial investigation into the charges against the Talaingod 18 and the ongoing attacks on Lumad schools and communities.
- We urge the Philippine authorities to take action to end paramilitary abuse in Mindanao and other regions.