CEBU – The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) clinched the 2026 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, an international prize honoring “champions of social justice who stand up to oppression in the nonviolent pursuit of human rights.”
The Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center selected NUPL for nearly two decades of coordinated legal work defending civil liberties amid documented cases of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and political persecution.
“For nearly two decades, NUPL lawyers have worked to uphold due process, freedom of expression, and the rights of the marginalized under extremely challenging circumstances,” said Kerry Kennedy, president of the Kennedy Human Rights Center.
“In the face of persecution and personal danger, NUPL members have remained unwavering in their fight to protect human rights and public interest law. Their resilience, resistance, and courage are an inspiration and a roadmap for anyone seeking to fight back against abuses and repression by those in power,” she adds.
The recognition follows earlier honors in 2024, when NUPL members became the first recipients of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Human Rights Awards.
Read: NUPL members are IBP’s 1st human rights awardees
NUPL was formed in 2007 amid rising human rights violations under then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Its creation also came alongside concerns over the Human Security Act of 2007, which critics warned could expand state powers and restrict civil liberties.
It was established to unify fragmented human rights lawyering into a coordinated national network of lawyers, legal workers, and advocates. It has since become the country’s largest association of human rights lawyers, providing pro bono legal aid and pursuing strategic litigation for victims of alleged state-linked abuses.
The organization has also reported sustained targeting of its members, particularly during the Duterte administration, when human rights groups documented an unprecedented rise in killings of lawyers. According to NUPL, 133 lawyers have been killed in the Philippines since 1984, with 59 of those killings occurring during the six-year presidency of detained ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, many involving lawyers representing activists and victims of war on drugs cases.
It has pursued landmark cases before the Philippine Supreme Court challenging measures such as martial law declarations and the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, and is also involved in representing victims of Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, including cases before the International Criminal Court.
NUPL President Ephraim B. Cortez said the recognition reflects not only the organization’s legal work but also the broader struggle of communities facing repression.
“This award is not ours alone; it belongs to every Filipino who has been silenced, red-tagged, or denied justice, and to every colleague who has risked their life to stand beside them,” Cortez said.
NUPL will receive the award on June 4 at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. as part of a global recognition program that has honored human rights defenders from 31 countries since its inception.
The post NUPL wins 2026 global human rights award for defending victims of state abuses appeared first on Bulatlat.
From Bulatlat via This RSS Feed.