Agnes Callamard named Amnesty International secretary general

Agnes Callamard, a critic of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, has been appointed the new chief of the UK-based human rights organization Amnesty International.

Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, will serve as secretary general for four years, the organization said in a statement.

She replaced Acting Secretary General Julie Verhaar.

“At a time when human rights are under unprecedented threat around the world, Dr. Callamard will lead, excite and rally the entire Amnesty movement to meet these challenges head-on,” said Sarah Beamish, chair of the Amnesty International Board. 

“The combination of her intellectual acuity, her deep global human rights experience, and her courageous voice makes her highly qualified to front our movement. We are delighted she has accepted this challenge to take us boldly into our next phase.”

Callamard said Amnesty’s “rigorous investigations and uncompromising campaigns” were “more vital than ever” especially in cases where “governments and corporations seek to silence those who speak out against their abuses, to obfuscate the truth, and to undermine or reject human rights norms.”

“I am honored to take up the post of Secretary General and work alongside Amnesty’s supporters around the world so that together we defend and demand respect for all human rights for all,” said Callamard, who also worked with Amnesty from 1995 to 2001.

Callamard has earned the ire of Duterte for her criticism of the war on drugs, which has killed some 6,000 suspected drug users and peddlers since he took office in 2016 based on government data.

In a visit to the Philippines in May 2017, the French human rights expert said that the heavy-handed approach by the Duterte administration only made the drug problem worse. Duterte later said he would slap her if she investigates him over the killings.

In January, Callamard suggested that the Philippines’ review of deadly anti-narcotics operations should also cover people who allegedly incited the killings.

Malacañang has repeatedly said that the deaths linked to the drug war were neither state-initiated nor sponsored, despite observations that Duterte’s rhetoric may have incited violence against drug suspects. — RSJ, GMA News