UNHRC member states alarmed over drug war killings under Duterte administration

The international community seems to believe that the country is some sort of a lesser version of “North Korea”, rather than one who has a vibrant and healthy democratic way of life.

Several member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council is calling out the Philippine government to promptly take action on the reported widespread” and “systematic” drug war killings in the country.

The reaction was brought about by the findings of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights  (OHCHR) about the country’s human rights council.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet
(photo credit to owner)

However the Philippines has rejected these allegations that there is impunity in the country’s current judicial system or a “lack of accountability” for human rights violations.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet in her speech in the UNHRC’s 44th regular session in Geneva, Switzerland said President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s war on drugs has been “widespread and systematic.”

She adds that such drug war are being enforced “without due regard for the rule of law.”

The said report has been delivered already by Bachelet to the Philippies.

The comprehensive report which was released last June 4 was mandated by the Iceland-initiated resolution , which was eventually adopted by the UNHCR in July 2019.

“The findings of the report are very serious…The report finds that the killings have been widespread and systematic and they are ongoing. The report also finds that serious human rights violations including extrajudicial killings have resulted from key policies driving the so-called war on drugs and incitement to violence from the highest levels of government,” she told the UNHRC.

“The campaign against illegal drugs is being carried out without due regard for the rule of law, due process and the human rights of people who may be using or selling drugs. The report finds that the killings have been widespread and systematic and they are ongoing,” she added.

The report found “near-total impunity” in the Duterte administration’s drug war, she notes that “unwillingness by the state to hold to account perpetrators of extrajudicial killings.”

“Families of the victims, understandably, feel powerless, with the odds firmly stacked against justice. Moreover, by senior government officials’ own admission, the draconian campaign has been ineffective in reducing the supply of illicit drugs,” she told the council.

“While the Philippines have made some progress in the advancement of economic and social rights, indigenous peoples and farmers continue to be caught in a tug of war between powerful businesses, and political interest,” she added.

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Report from PDI

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