Human Rights Watch urges UN to adopt strong resolution vs. Philippine drug war

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday called on the member-states of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to adopt a strong resolution during its 51st session, addressing the human rights situation in the Philippines in light of its government’s campaign against illegal drugs.

In a policy paper submitted to UN member-states, HRW said that extrajudicial killings in the Philippine government’s “war on drugs” allegedly still occur on a regular basis.

It cited a report by the Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines that 72 drug-related killings have been recorded after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. assumed office on June 30, 2022.

Marcos’ predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte, earlier implemented  Oplan Tokhang as part of his administration’s drug war.

“UN member-states should not be fooled by the baseless claims from the new Philippine government that the rights situation has suddenly improved,” HRW Geneva director Lucy McKernan said.

“Continued UN scrutiny of the Philippines is vitally important because ‘drug war’ killings are still common and police impunity for rights violations remains the norm,” she added.

HRW said the resolution it is recommending should create expanded human rights monitoring mechanisms and continue the UN Joint Program.

It should also request continued reporting by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the situation in the country.

Such a resolution should also call on Marcos to “unequivocally end the war on drugs and to prioritize accountability for unlawful killings and other abuses,” it added.

“It should urge the government to form a “truth commission” that will gather testimony from witnesses and victims and their families and make recommendations for achieving justice and ensuring payment of reparations,” HRW said in a statement.

GMA News Online has already asked the Department of Justice, and the Commission on Human Rights for comment but has yet to receive their statements.

Asked for reaction on the matter, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said: "None. No comment, no reaction."

Marcos, however, earlier said “the Philippines has no intention of rejoining the ICC (International Criminal Court),” pointing out that the country already has its own investigation into the drug war killings.

Duterte pulled the Philippines out of the Hague-based tribunal's Rome Statute in 2018, with the withdrawal taking effect in 2019, after the ICC began a preliminary probe into the crackdown.

The Philippines on Thursday called on the ICC not to resume its investigation into Duterte's deadly drug war, insisting the tribunal has no jurisdiction.

Government records showed that at least 6,200 drug suspects have been killed in police operations from June 2016 until November 2021. Several human rights groups, however, refuted the data and claimed the actual death to stand at around 12,000 to 30,000.

HRW said the OHCHR reported that the death toll was at least 8,663.

The group said other grave abuses are also continuing in the Philippines such as alleged harassment and extrajudicial killings of activists, environmentalists, journalists, and other human rights defenders.

“UN member-states should make sure they don’t drop the ball on the Philippines and instead strengthen the Human Rights Council’s efforts to improve human rights in the country,” McKernan said.

“Filipinos who suffered the most during the Duterte administration are looking to the Human Rights Council to help them achieve justice for themselves and their loved ones,” she added.

HRW thus also urged Marcos to take immediate steps to improve the human rights situation in the country.

Red-tagging, De Lima

Part of its proposed resolution is also the call to stop the practice of “red-tagging” activists and critics of the government, and the harassment of journalists and online activists with threats of arrests or criminal libel cases.

HRW said the resolution should also urge Marcos to release de Lima, to name independent human rights experts to the Commission on Human Rights, and to facilitate the full participation of civil society organizations in the UN Joint Program.

“He should release former Senator Leila de Lima, who has been held in police detention for more than six years on spurious drug charges. And he should appoint independent human rights experts as commissioners to the government Commission on Human Rights so that it can investigate and help prosecute human rights violations,” HRW said. —With reports from Anna Felicia Bajo and Joahna Lei Casilao/KG/RSJ, GMA News