Issue on North Korea Nuclear Test:

MANILA, Philippines - Responding to the UN Security Council

resolution imposing stricter sanctions against North Korea,
the Philippines yesterday seized one of its cargo ships that
docked in Subic Bay on Thursday.
The Philippine government said it would impound the North
Korean vessel M/V Jin Teng in response to tough new UN
sanctions.
The 6,830-ton cargo ship will not be allowed to leave Subic,
where it had been docked for three days, and its crew will be
deported.
The world is concerned over North Koreas nuclear weapons
program and as a member of the UN, the Philippines has to
do its part to enforce the sanctions, Presidential
Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office
Undersecretary Manuel Quezon III said.
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution
2270 imposing new sanctions and tightened some of its
existing measures against the Democratic Peoples Republic
of Korea (DPRK) due to its nuclear weapons program that
threaten international peace and security.

vessels, while calling on UN member states to de-register

any North Korean-owned or controlled vessels.
Member states are mandated to ban any flights and deny
entry into their ports of any vessel suspected of carrying
prohibited items.
In response to the UNs move, Pyongyang fired six shortrange missiles into the sea on Thursday, while North Korean
leader Kim Jong-Un ordered its nuclear arsenal put on
standby for pre-emptive use at anytime.
On Friday, the European Union also tightened sanctions
against North Korea by adding 16 individuals and 12 entities
to a list of some 60 individuals and groups who were hit with
travel bans and asset freezes.
The Jin Teng
Quezon said the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United
Nations in New York relayed the latest UN sanction to United
Nations and other International Organizations (UNIO)
Assistant Secretary Gary Domingo, who in turn informed
Malacaang that the North Korean vessel should not be
allowed to leave the port in Subic.

The resolution, which imposes the toughest sanctions so far

on DPRK, reflects the resolute stand of the international
community against DPRKs provocative nuclear tests and
rocket launches which pose clear threats to international
peace and stability, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
said in a statement.

So what happened was the UNIO office of the DFA

coordinated with the Philippine Coast Guard, Quezon said.

Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose added the DFA has

yet to receive any official report if the vessel is involved in
transporting illegal cargo.

The DFA said the Philippines joins the international

community in strongly urging the DPRK to comply with
UNSCR 2270 and relevant resolutions and undertake
concrete steps towards denuclearization.
The resolution, which dramatically expands existing
sanctions, follows North Koreas latest nuclear test on Jan. 6
and a Feb. 7 rocket launch that Washington and its allies said
used banned ballistic missile technology. Pyongyang said it
was a peaceful satellite launch.

He added a team from the UN might also come to inspect the

ship in Subic while the Philippine government will report to
the UN its actions after holding the ship.

We have to get official report first and study it before

making recommendations, Jose said.
We also need to send a report to the United Nations on
Philippine actions taken, he added.
Jose said the DFA is coordinating its efforts with other
Philippine government agencies including the Philippine
Coast Guard (PCG) and the Department of Justice.

The resolution said North Korea was in violation of and in

flagrant disregard of the UN Security Councils prior
resolutions banning nuclear weapons programs.

PCG commandant Rear Adm. William Melad said they would

hold the North Korean cargo vessel and its crew until a formal
communication has been made.

The new resolution expands sanctions against North Korea by

imposing a ban on all exports including coal, iron, iron ore,
gold, titanium ore, vanadium ore and rare earth metals, and
banning the supply of all types of aviation fuel, including
rocket fuel.

The Bureau of Immigration said it has restricted the shore

passes of the 21 crewmembers of the ship.

Regarding financial sanctions, the resolution broadens their

scope by imposing an asset freeze on all funds and other
economic resources owned or controlled by the North Korean
government or by its Workers Party of Korea, if found to be
associated with its nuclear or ballistic missile program or any
other prohibited activities.
The new resolution also requires member states to inspect all
cargo to and from North Korea, not just those suspected of
containing prohibited items, as was previously the case.
It also bans leasing or chartering of vessels or airplanes and
providing crew services to the country, and registering

The Jin Teng was inspected in Subic Bay, a former US-run

naval base, after it arrived Thursday from Balembang,
Indonesia, loaded with palm kernel expeller a byproduct of
palm oil production and other agricultural products.
The Jin Teng is among 31 vessels that could be forced to stop
trading after being included in an asset freeze against a
North Korean shipping company under the tightened
sanctions passed unanimously by the UN Security Council on
Wednesday.
The Jin Teng was inspected for the second time yesterday,
this time using electronic weapons sensors, PCG spokesman
Commander Armand Balilo said.
He added the 21 crewmen were very cooperative. Pia LeeBrago, Bebot Sison, Evelyn Macairan

2015 Rohingya refugee crisis

The 2015 Rohingya refugee crisis refers to the mass
migration of thousands of Rohingya people from Myanmar
(also known as Burma) and Bangladesh in 2015, collectively
dubbed 'boat people' by international media. Nearly all that
fled traveled to Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia,
Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand by rickety boats via
the waters of the Strait of Malacca and the Andaman Sea.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
estimates that 25,000 people have been taken to boats from
January to March in 2015 by human traffickers. There are
claims that around 100 people died in Indonesia, 200 in
Malaysia, and 10 in Thailand[9] while on their journey after
the traffickers abandoned them at sea.
In October 2015, researchers from the International State
Crime Initiative at Queen Mary University of London released
a report drawing on leaked government documents that
reveals an increasing "ghettoisation, sporadic massacres,
and restrictions on movement" on Rohingya peoples. The
researchers suggest that the Myanmar government are in
the final stages of an organised process of genocide against
the Rohingya and have called upon the international
community to redress the situation as such.
Latest News on such issue:
The governments of Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia
should end the indefinite detention of Rohingya refugees
from Myanmar and provide them with full protection, said
Fortify Rights and the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
(BROUK) in a new briefing today.
Almost ten months after human trafficking syndicates
abandoned
thousands
of
Rohingya
refugees
and
Bangladeshis in the Andaman Sea, Rohingya refugees
continue to lack protections in Thailand, Malaysia, and
Indonesia, the rights groups said.
"We hoped the international attention on the boat crisis last
year would have resulted in durable solutions and greater
protections for Rohingya refugees in Southeast Asia, but
that's not what we've found," said Tun Khin, president of
BROUK. "Asean can and should do better."
The group produced an 18-page briefing, "Everywhere is
Trouble," based on meetings with government officials,
United Nations officials, and nongovernmental organisations;
visits to an immigration detention centre (IDC), governmentoperated shelter, and refugee camps; and interviews with
Rohingya refugees and survivors of human trafficking.
It said at least 40 Rohingya refugees have been detained in
Thailand for more than 10 months in squalid facilities at the
Songkhla IDC, including reportedly a dozen or more boys
under the age of 18.
"Thailand should immediately stop detaining refugees," said
Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights. "The
treatment of refugees in these facilities is inhumane and
undignified, and the detention of refugee children is
particularly shameful and should end immediately."
In Malaysia, thousands of Rohingya refugees are detained in
IDCs throughout the country. Rohingya survivors from the
May 2015 boat crisis reportedly remain detained in Belantik
Immigration Detention Center, where access by the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and
service providers is extremely limited.

In May 2015, Indonesia was widely praised for opening its

borders to Rohingya refugees after Acehnese fishers
courageously rescued at sea more than 1,000 survivors of
human trafficking. Today, Rohingya survivors from the May
boat crisis are confined to camps in Aceh, Indonesia.
Rohingya refugees living in the camps are not free to leave
the camps and must depend on service providers for basic
necessities. Rohingya refugees living in other parts of
Indonesia with UNHCR status lack freedom of movement in
the country.
SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS:
Syria crisis: Fast facts

13.5 million people in Syria need humanitarian

assistance.

4.6 million Syrians are refugees, and 6.6 million are

displaced within Syria; half are children.

Most Syrian refugees remain in the Middle East, in

Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt; about 10
percent of the refugees have fled to Europe.

Children affected by the Syrian conflict are at risk of

becoming ill, malnourished, abused, or exploited.
Millions have been forced to quit school. See new
photo slideshow.

A fragile ceasefire began on Feb. 26, allowing

humanitarian aid access to civilians who had been
cut off for months. Refugees react to news of the
ceasefire.
Why are Syrians fleeing their homes?

Violence: Since the Syrian civil war began, 320,000

people have been killed, including nearly 12,000
children. About 1.5 million people have been
wounded or permanently disabled, according to the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The war has
become more deadly since foreign powers joined the
conflict.

Collapsed infrastructure: Within Syria, healthcare,

education systems, and other infrastructure have
been destroyed; the economy is shattered.

Childrens safety: Syrian children the nations hope

for a better future have lost loved ones, suffered
injuries, missed years of schooling, and witnessed
violence and brutality. Warring parties forcibly recruit
children to serve as fighters, human shields, and in
support roles, according to the U.S. State
Department. Read a story on our blog about how 3
refugee sisters are coping.
PHILIPPINES
Refugees

Only

state

willing

to

accept

Jewish

The Philippines has a long history of opening its doors to

refugees seeking asylum, and of engaging in humanitarian
efforts to resettle them. The United Nations defines refugee
as any person who: owing to a well-founded fear of being
persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality,
membership of a particular social group, or political opinion,
is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or,
owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the
protection of that country.
Owing to its background as a country that struggled for its
own independence, it included the authority for the President
of the Philippines to offer asylum to stateless persons or
other refugees; this strong commitment was ratified further
by the country being a signatory of the 1951 U.N. Convention
Relating to the Status of Refugees and of the 1967 Protocol,
thus enabling the Philippines to become a refuge to many
kinds of refugees in many instances in the past.

In particular, in 2012, the Philippines was cited for having

become a state-party to the 1954 Convention on Stateless
Persons, the only country to do so in Southeast Asia, and its
hosting of an Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM) for
refugees.
JEWISH REFUGEES IN MANILA
The Jewish people have suffered intense racial discrimination
throughout their history. The anti-Semitic movement in
Europe grew unprecedented under Nazi Germany through
the leadership of Adolf Hitler leading to the 1938 event
known as the Kristallnacht, which shocked the world,
including the Philippines. German Jews were denied one
basic human right after another. These drew the European
Jews to seek asylum in other parts of the world .
The first influx of Jewish refugees seeking to escape the
persecution of the Nazis came to Manila in 1934. The first
opportunity to shelter a significant number of Jewish
refugees was in 1937, when Imperial Japanese forces
attacked Shanghai, China. As a result, the German
government offered all Germans in Shanghai free passage to
the Philippines. At the request of the German Consul in
Manila, President Manuel L. Quezon with U.S. High
Commissioner Paul V. McNutt, authorized the admission of
the refugees on the condition that they would not become a
public burden. They were to be supported by their fellow
nationals in the Philippines.
On September 8, 1937, the largest refugee group to have
landed in the Philippines composed of ethnic Germans and
German Jews, arrived in Manila aboard the Norddeutscher
Lloyd steamship, Gneisenau. The Jewish Refugee Committee
was formed to assume the task of providing for the refugees.
On February 15, 1939, President Quezon sent a message to
Congress urging them to allow additional German Jewish
professionals in the country.
On February 15, 1939, through a press statement by
President Quezon, the Philippine government reiterated its
position on Jewish refugees:
The Commonwealth Government, upon invitation of the
United States, could not turn a deaf ear to the sufferings of
these unfortunate people. The Philippine Commonwealth,
founded as it is upon justice and righteousness and the
preservation of essential human liberties, could not but view
with sympathy the opportunity to do its share in meeting the
situation.
In the same statement, the Philippine government offered to
open its doors to political refugees with professional
qualifications, particularly in the sciences. Thus, the
government under President Quezon, initially planned to
resettle as many as 10,000 Jewish refugees in farming
communities and other sparsely populated lands in
Mindanao. The plan would be of great advantage to the
Philippines, as refugees with sufficient training could develop
new crops and help the Philippine economy. With the help of
Filipino farmers and competent agriculturists, the Jewish
refugees
would
be
able
to
support
themselves.
Unfortunately, the plan never became a reality.

A May 1940 Philippine Free Press political cartoon by

Esmeraldo Izon illustrates the scores of immigrants that
threatened to overwhelm the Philippines' ability to absorb
them.
A May 1940 Philippine Free Press political cartoon by
Esmeraldo Izon illustrates the scores of immigrants that
threatened to overwhelm the Philippines ability to absorb
them.
In May 1939, as Jews in Manila tried to settle themselves, the
Philippine Board of Medical Examiners allowed several Jewish
physicians to take the medical examination, and gain a
professional medical license in the country. This was further
emphasized on August 1939 as an action by President
Quezon, which was motivated by broad humanitarian
grounds.
As the Jewish situation worsened in Europe, in June 1939,
another 750 Jews arrived in Manila and an additional 933
German Jews arrived via S.S. St. Louis after they were denied
to dock by the Cuban government.
In May 1940, with the limits set by the U.S. State
Department, Quezon signed Commonwealth Act 613 or The
Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, which limited the number
of refugees allowed by law to 500 individuals from each
nation each year. This brought to fore several considerations:
selection of appropriate settlement for the refugees, training
of the settlers, among others.
However, as emerging research on the Jewish refugees in
Manila by Sharon Delmendo shows, the Philippine
Immigration Act of 1940 specifically included Special
Provisions that provided President Quezon with broad
discretionary powers to admit aliens who are refugees for
religious, political, or racial reasons, in such classes of cases
and under such conditions as he may prescribe. This
provision was enacted despite what seems to have been
unease in the U.S. State Department and the National
Assembly; it remains part of the law up to this day as cited
by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR).
Thus, Manila continued to be a haven for Jewish refugees.
President Quezon continued to authorize the admission of
approximately 1,000 Nazi-persecuted Jews. In addition,
Quezon donated seven and a half hectares of his country
estate in Marikina as a working farm for the refugees. The
Marikina Hall was dedicated on April 23, 1940, and housed
approximately forty Jewish refugees. At the inauguration of
the Marikina Hall, President Quezon expressed his
sympathies to the refugees and assured the Filipino people
that there was no reason to fear economic dominance or
monopoly of the Jews in the country. President Quezon said:
It is my hope, and indeed my expectation, that the people of
the Philippines will have in the future every reason to be glad
that when the time of need came, their country was willing
to extend a hand of welcome.
On June 21, 2009, the State of Israel honored the Philippines
with the construction of the Open Doors Monument, a
geometric 7-meter sculpture, at the Rishon LeZion Memorial
Park in Israel. The monument, made of Romblon marble,
commemorated the open door policy of the Philippines to the
Jewish refugees that saved more than a thousand Jews.