Human rights report holds Rody liable for EJKs

MANILA, Philippines - The group Human Rights Watch has accused President Duterte of instigating and inciting the killings of mostly urban poor members in his war against drugs, a condition that can be considered a crime against humanity. 

“His first six months in office has been a human rights calamity for the Philippines,” read the background portion of the 117-page report titled “License to Kill: Philippine Police Killings in Duterte’s War on Drugs.”

“As president, Duterte has a legal responsibility to publicly direct state security forces to end their campaign of extrajudicial executions of suspected drug dealers and users,” said Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch and author of the report.

“Duterte and his chief subordinates could be held criminally liable in the Philippines or by a court abroad for their role in these killings. No evidence thus far shows that Duterte planned or ordered specific extrajudicial killings, but his repeated calls for killings as part of his anti-drug campaign could constitute acts instigating law enforcement to commit murder. His statements encouraging the general population to commit vigilante violence against suspected drug users could be criminal incitement,” the New York-based group pointed out in the report.

It added, “Duterte, senior officials and others implicated in unlawful killings could also be held liable for crimes against humanity, which are serious offenses committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack on a civilian population. The numerous and seemingly organized deadly attacks on the publicly targeted group of drug suspects could amount to crimes against humanity as defined by the International Criminal Court, of which the Philippines is a member.”

“The United Nations should urgently create an independent, international investigation into the killings to determine responsibility and ensure mechanisms for accountability,” it also said.

Aside from criticizing Duterte, Human Rights Watch also accused policemen of falsifying evidence to justify unlawful killings in the campaign that has already claimed more than 7,000 lives.

“Our investigations into the Philippine ‘drug war’ found that police routinely kill drug suspects in cold blood and then cover up the crime by planting drugs and guns at the scene. President Duterte’s role in these killings makes him ultimately responsible for the deaths of thousands,” Bouckaert said.

The report pointed out that policemen repeatedly carried out extrajudicial killings of drug suspects and then falsely claimed self-defense.

“They plant guns, spent ammunition and drug packets on their victims’ bodies to implicate them in drug activities. Masked gunmen taking part in killings appeared to be working closely with the police, casting doubt on government claims that the majority of killings have been committed by vigilantes or rival drug gangs. In several instances that Human Rights Watch investigated, suspects in police custody were later found dead and classified by police as ‘found bodies’ or ‘deaths under investigation.’ No one has been meaningfully investigated, let alone prosecuted, for any of the ‘drug war’ killings,” said Bouckaert.

His report draws heavily on interviews with 28 family members of victims and witnesses to police killings in Metro Manila, journalists and human rights activists.

UN drugs board slams killings

The UN-linked International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) condemned yesterday the use of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.

In a new annual report, the INCB said “extrajudicial action, purportedly taken in pursuit of drug control objectives, is fundamentally contrary to the provisions and objectives” of international drug conventions.

In August the INCB, an independent quasi-judicial body monitoring the implementation of UN drugs conventions, had already called on the Philippines government to ensure an “immediate stop” to the killings.

The new annual report condemned the practice “in the strongest possible terms”, calling it a “serious violation of human rights” and an “affront to the most basic standards of human dignity.”