MANILA, Philippines – A United Nations rights body has expressed concern over declarations made by Philippine officials that seem to encourage and condone extrajudicial killings of drug users, particularly the poor.
In a 14-page report, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights also urged the Philippines to consider drug abuse as a public health problem 1instead of a crime.
It said statements issued by some Philippine officials appeared to legitimize violence against users of illegal drugs.
“The committee is deeply concerned that declarations made by high ranking officials in the context of the ‘war on drugs’ may be seen to encourage and legitimize violence against drug users, including extrajudicial killings,” the committee said in its report.
The report did not mention names, but President Duterte himself and his police chief among other officials have been vocal about their wish to see drug offenders and drug addicts killed.
“Indeed, the number of extrajudicial killings of drug suspects has drastically increased in recent months and a large number of people have been arrested and detained in already overcrowded prisons,” the report noted.
It also pointed out that the anti-drug campaign of the Duterte administration has been targeting people from poor neighborhoods.
“Poor neighborhoods and individuals have been disproportionately affected in this process,” the committee said.
“The Committee is also concerned that the criminalization of the possession and use of drugs hinders persons in need of treatment from receiving such treatment and regrets the shortage of treatment centers that incorporates evidence-based health services, such as opioid substitution therapies,” it noted.
“The Committee is further concerned at the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C among people who inject drugs,” it said.
“The Committee urges the State to stop and prevent extrajudicial killings and any form of violence against drug users; to promptly and thoroughly investigate all reported cases and punish the perpetrators with sanctions commensurate with the gravity of the crime; and to take all necessary measures to ensure that the fight against drug trafficking does not have a discriminatory impact on the poor and marginalized,” the committee urged.
“The committee also recommends that the state party reconsider the criminalization of drug users; adopt a right-to-health approach to drug abuse with harm reduction strategies, such as syringe exchange programs; and increase the availability of treatment services that are evidence-based and respectful of the rights of drug users,” the report read.
The report contained findings by an 18-member team of independent human rights experts, which conducted a review of human rights situation in the country, including in the areas of social services, women and indigenous people’s issues, education and even internet access.
While it was critical of the conduct of the government’s war on drugs, the committee was supportive of the administration’s stand against “endo” or end-of-contract.
“The Committee is concerned that about 75 percent of the workforce, the majority of them women, are working in the informal economy and/or on non-standard forms of employment without legal protection, support and safeguards,” the report stated.
The committee also said it is “concerned that the contractualization of workers for periods of five months (so-called Endo), which the ‘Herrera Law’ of 1989 (Republic Act No. 6715) legitimized, is rampant across all economic sectors in the State party, increasing the number of workers under short-term contracts and with lower levels of protection.”