Vision Statement

The Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (CHRP) strives for full human rights for all oppressed people. We believe that human beings have the inalienable right to life, liberty,security of person and pursuit of happiness and have such fundamental freedoms as those ofideas, belief, expression and assembly, as well as from want and fear. We believe in a progressive vision of human rights, which includes:

The right to land, food, shelter, health care, education, work, safety, a healthy
environment, adequate and sustainable resources, and peace;

The right to live in a society free from class and economic exploitation, and political,
racial, national, religious, gender, cultural, and sexual oppression;

The right to decent working conditions in a safe place with a livable wage;

The right to practice one's culture and learn one's true history; and

The right of peoples and nations to self-determination.

CHRP believes that professions on the "universality" of human rights are empty under conditions of exploitation. The concept of universality to mean universal equality is utopian under situations where the ruling classes, who comprise a small minority, oppress the masses of workers and peasants who constitute the majority; where a few imperialist powers oppress the people in neo-colonies and other dependent countries; and where a small group of nations and people freely employ force and coercion against the majority in order to maintain a situation where a few live in opulence while the majority live in misery. The majority of human rights violations are committed by the minority ruling classes against the oppressed masses.

CHRP believes that human rights can be achieved for oppressed and exploited Filipinos by addressing the three root causes of human suffering in the Philippines; without addressing these three root problems, full human rights will never be realized for the Filipino people:

Imperialism-foreign domination by the U.S., other imperialist nations, and multi-national corporations;

Feudalism-a system of unfair land ownership and use imposed by feudal landlords; and

Bureaucrat capitalism-the corrupt Philippine government working in service of capitalist interests.

CHRP believes that we must also support the fight for human rights for all oppressed peoples and nations around the world in order to build a more just, humane, and peaceful place in which to live.