Irish missionary wins human rights award for work in the Philippines

An Irish missionary has warned about the impact on human rights of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines against those suspected of being either drug dealers or users.

Fr Shay Cullen of the Preda Foundation (People's Recovery, Empowerment and Development Assistance), helping vulnerable children in the country, was speaking as the recipient of the AK Shalom Award for Human Rights during a ceremony in Germany on Monday.

“Today in the Philippines, we have a grave situation where the values represented by this award are needed more than ever,” he said, referring to state sanctioned executions reaching about 8,000 since June, 2016.

“The killing goes on as I speak to you tonight,” he told the audience. “We have to take a stand against these violations and stand for the value of life and due process of law and the principle that all are innocent until proven guilty.

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“Otherwise not only are more suspects vulnerable but we are all vulnerable if death squads are allowed to have their murderous way. In the past, inaction and fear allowed tyrants to rule nations by the gun and violence.”

Ulrike Thoenniges, president of the Tatort-Verein Foundation presenting the award, said the work of Fr Cullen and the Preda Foundation had consisted of rescuing children illegally detained in jails and saving victims of human trafficking.