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UN launches 'comprehensive' review of Philippine drug war UN launches 'comprehensive' review of Philippine drug war
(about 3 hours later)
The United Nations has narrowly approved a resolution mandating a “comprehensive” international review of the drug war in the Philippines, which watchdogs say has claimed more than 20,000 lives. The human rights body of the United Nations has agreed to begin investigating President Rodrigo Duterte’s violent war on drugs in the Philippines amid accusations of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and crimes against humanity.
The UN human rights council resolution had faced strong pushback from President Rodrigo Duterte’s government, which counters that the toll has been exaggerated – its estimates say 5,300 have died – and that the crackdown enjoys widespread popular support. A resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights council on Thursday, which passed narrowly by four votes, authorised the United Nations human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, to examine evidence of thousands of deaths at the hands of the police and so called “death squads”. She will present her report in a year.
'War on drugs' makes Philippines fourth most dangerous country – report'War on drugs' makes Philippines fourth most dangerous country – report
Duterte’s three-year war on drugs has unleashed a surge of bloodshed, with reports of nightly killings of suspects by police and masked gunmen. The official death toll from Duterte’s war on drugs, which has been the signature policy of his presidency since he was elected in 2016, currently stands at around 5,300. However, human rights group estimate the real figure is between 12,000 and 20,000, mostly targeting the urban poor.
Activists said they had initially hoped the UN would demand a formal “inquiry” but compromised on calling for a “report” to win a majority. While the resolution did not establish a full commission of enquiry, as many activists had hoped it would, the green light for Bachelet to begin investigations is the council’s strongest condemnation of Duterte’s actions yet and could have severe consequences. Amnesty International hailed the vote as “crucial”.
The text, proposed by Iceland, was backed by 18 states in the 47-member council, with 14 nations voting against and 15 abstentions.
It gives Michelle Bachelet, the UN high commissioner for human rights, a year to prepare a “comprehensive written report on the situation of human rights in the Philippines”.
Bachelet’s spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani, said the report would offer an opportunity to “get clarity around the contested facts, figures and circumstances” of the drug war.Bachelet’s spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani, said the report would offer an opportunity to “get clarity around the contested facts, figures and circumstances” of the drug war.
The government in Manila dismissed the vote. “The Philippines rejects this resolution,” said the foreign secretary Teodoro Locsin. “We will not accept a politically partisan and one-sided resolution, so detached from the truth on the ground,” he added, warning “there will be consequences”. At the UN headquarters in Geneva, Philippine delegates had lobbied furiously over the past week to try and prevent the resolution being passed and vehemently spoke out against its adoption on Thursday.
Speaking shortly before the resolution was approved, Duterte called the text “crazy” but said he would consider allowing UN rights staff into the country. “The Philippines rejects this resolution,” said foreign secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. “It cannot, in good conscience, abide by it. We will not accept a politically partisan and one-sided resolution so detached from the truth on the ground.”
“Let them state their purpose and I will review it,” he said. Locsin added that in light of this resolution, which was backed by several countries the Philippines considers allies including the UK and Australia, the foreign policy of the Philippines had shifted from “friend to all, enemy to none” to “friend to friends, enemy to enemies, and a worse enemy to false friends.”
When the then UN rights commissioner, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, raised concern about the drug war in 2016, Duterte called him an “idiot” and a “son of a bitch”. “We will not tolerate any form of disrespect or acts of bad faith. There will be consequences, far-reaching ones,” said Locsin.
Leila Matar, of Human Rights Watch, described the resolution as “a modest but vital” step that “signals the start of accountability for thousands of ‘drug war’-related killings”. The vote came against the backdrop of renewed international scrutiny of Duterte’s war on drugs, which three years on has remained as violent as ever. Some 490 deaths have been recorded in 2019.
Amnesty International hailed Thursday’s vote as “crucial”. In June, a three-year-old girl became the youngest victim of the war on drugs after she was shot in the head during a drugs raid on her home. The response to her death by the former police chief, Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who said simply that “shit happens”, drew condemnation from international human rights groups.
“[It] provides hope for thousands of bereaved families in the Philippines, and countless more Filipinos bravely challenging the Duterte administration’s murderous ‘war on drugs’,” said Amnesty’s regional director for east and south-east Asia, Nicholas Bequelin. This week Amnesty also released a report alleging that Duterte is carrying out a “large-scale murdering enterprise” and should be investigated by the UN for crimes against humanity. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is also carrying out its own preliminary investigation into whether the war on drugs in the Philippines constitutes crimes against humanity.
In addition to calling for a report by Bachelet, the resolution raises concerns over other alleged abuses under Duterte, including “killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and detention”.
The drug war, launched in 2016, is Duterte’s signature initiative, and he has often reacted with fury when outsiders have raised concerns about it.
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