'Human rights matter': Why Australian senator Janet Rice held a protest sign in middle of Marcos Jr.'s speech
"Stop human rights abuses."
These words were on the placard Australian Greens senator Janet Rice raised as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. addressed the country's parliament in Canberra.
Marcos gave a rare speech before the governing body, becoming the first Philippine president to do so. In his address, Marcos talked about the country's ties with Australia and climate change.
As he addressed the plenary, Rice held up her placard but was later censured by her colleagues and, as per Sky News Australia, escorted out of parliament.
"Under President Marcos Jr, corruption in the Philippines is getting worse. There are hundreds of political prisoners and 'anti-terrorism' laws are used as legal cover for extrajudicial killings. Yet the Australian Government invited him to address the Parliament today. Shame," Rice wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Under President Marcos Jr, corruption in the Philippines is getting worse. There are hundreds of political prisoners and 'anti-terrorism' laws are used as legal cover for extrajudicial killings.
— Janet Rice (@janet_rice) February 29, 2024
Yet the Australian Government invited him to address the Parliament today. Shame. pic.twitter.com/iDcSzBCWkL
The Greens senator later told Sky News Australia that the move wasn't done to "cause a fuss."
"Human rights matter and they matter for every person in the world. I am proud in this parliament, over 10 years I've been here, to be speaking up for the human rights of people across the world—whether it's the Philippines, whether it's Tibet, whether it's West Papua, whether it's Palestine, and here in Australia," she said.
"I learned and I heard firsthand about what is going on in the Philippines. I learned about the extrajudicial killings—where people on trumped-up charges are red-tagged and then they are hunted down and killed; where human rights lawyers are shot at point blank range as they are driving through the streets," the senator continued.
The Senate voted to censure Rice for her actions, something she later lamented on X.
"I am struck by having a censure motion moved against me for 'abusing' parliamentary rights when human rights did not rate a mention when both the prime minister and the leader of the opposition in their speeches today did not mention human rights at all. They are completely whitewashing and sycophantic towards the President."
Rice's fellow Greens senator Jordon Steele-John did not attend Marcos' speech and instead joined the Australian-Filipino community protesting outside parliament.
While President Marcos Jr gave a speech to the parliament today, I was proud to protest in solidarity with the Australian-Filipino community outside parliament! 🇵🇭
Stop the human rights abuses! pic.twitter.com/EJv5ckJEk6— Senator Jordon Steele-John (@SenatorJordon) February 29, 2024
He also decried the censure motion against Rice: "If the [Liberals think] calling out human rights abusers is unparliamentary then they don't belong in the Senate at all," he wrote on X.
According to international non-government organization Human Rights Watch, extrajudicial killings as part of Rodrigo Duterte's bloody drug war have continued with the University of the Philippines' Third World Studies Center recording up to 397 killed in "drug-related violence" from June 30, 2022 to August 31, 2023.
Additionally, Marcos has previously said that the government will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court's investigation of his predecessor.