New York, NY – Around 60 New Yorkers gathered in front of the Consulate General of the Philippines, December 10, in Manhattan to mark the 70th anniversary of Human Rights Day. On this day in 1948 the United Nations General Assembly ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) called for the rally on the cold December evening. Chants could be heard throughout the streets, such as, “No justice! No peace! Stop the killings in the Philippines!” and “Defend democracy! Rise, resist, unite against Duterte’s tyranny!”

The spirited group of protesters marched to Trump Towers after a round of speeches and singing, We Shall Overcome. They passed by the tourist-heavy Rockefeller Center and out-of-towners stopped ogling the giant Christmas tree to take pictures of the marchers.

Jessica Schwartz from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression-NY gave a speech connecting U.S. imperialism and the human rights abuses abroad, stating, “That is why when we oppose Duterte, when we oppose Trump, we must fight for an end to the entire U.S. war machine. We here in the belly of the beast must continue speaking out, no matter what threats and intimidation we receive. From New York to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine!”

The evening ended with a speaker from ICHRP, who announced their new campaign to have the U.S. stop sending aid to Philippine military and police.

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