UN special rapporteur to lead 5-day program on probing unlawful deaths

UN Special Rapporteur Dr. Morris Tidball-Binz will lead a five-day technical training program on the Minnesota Protocol on the investigation of potentially unlawful deaths, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Tuesday.

According to the DOJ spokesperson Atty. Mico Clavano, the training aims to strengthen domestic accountability mechanisms to address human rights violations and abuses which will lead to increased accountability and justice.

“The Minnesota protocol on the investigation of potentially unlawful deaths which was signed in 2016 is today’s golden standard for the investigation and prevention of potentially unlawful deaths,” he said in an interview.

“Awareness and effective use and implementation of the Minnesota Protocol is an effective way of ensuring that all cases of potentially unlawful deaths are effectively investigated, including for the prevention of extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions,” he added.

Clavano said the training will be held from July 3 to July 7.

The team of experts is composed of Tidball-Binz, Dr. Stephen Cordner, and Atty. Kingsley Aboot.

Participants include senior-level officials from the DOJ, the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation, and the Commission on Human Rights.

Government records show that at least  6,200 drug suspects have been killed in police operations from June 2016 until November 2021. Several human rights groups, however, claimed the actual death toll could be from 12,000 to 30,000.

The Human Rights Watch earlier said the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has pegged the death toll at 8,663. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News