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32 countries urge Philippines to allow Callamard visit

June 11, 2017 | 10:25am

32 countries urge Philippines to allow Callamard visit

People listen to a speech delivered by Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte shown on a screen during the Universal Periodic Review of the Philippines by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on May 8, 2017 at the UN offices in Geneva. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP, file

MANILA, Philppines — Expressing “deep concerns” over the Duterte administration’s war against illegal drugs, 32 member-countries of the United Nations have urged the Philippines to allow the visit of special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions Agnes Callamard without preconditions or limitations.

Speaking in behalf of the signatories, Iceland’s permanent representative to the UN Högni Kristjánsson expressed alarm over the high number of deaths in the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.

“We are alarmed that over 7,000 people have reportedly been killed since the anti-drug campaign was launched last July, many in circumstances, which remain, unexplained,” Kristjánsson said during the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) session in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday.

The government has disputed the number of deaths linked to the war on drugs, saying only 1,847 killings of 9,432 recorded from July 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017 were considered drug related. Another 5,691 were listed as "under investigation" according to the latest data on the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency website.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, then a senator, spoke before members of the HRC dismissed the reports of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines as "alternative facts" and said political opponents were "changed" the definition of extrajudicial killings to make the Duterte administration look bad.

READ: Cayetano uses restrictive EJK definition, experts say

“Further, we are concerned at the lack of appropriate investigation into or, accountability for these killings, contrary to basic democratic safeguards and the rule of law,” Kristjánsson added.

While the countries stressed they understand the negative implications of drug addiction, they said any efforts to respond to the challenge of illicit drugs must be carried out in full compliance with due process and international human rights law.

They called on the Philippines to take all necessary measures to bring the killings to an end and to ensure prompt, independent and credible investigations into all violent deaths.

Joining Iceland in the statement were the governments of:

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Montenegro
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom

No preconditions

In the statement, the 32 countries called on the Philippines to allow Callamard to conduct an official visit “without preconditions or limitations.”

“We would like to underline, that as a member of the HRC, the Philippines is expected to uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights and fully cooperate with the council and its mechanisms,” they said.

The countries also expressed alarm over the reported harassment, intimidation, threats and killings of human rights defenders in the Philippines

“(We) are dismayed at public statements which threaten or appear to support the murder of journalists, human rights defenders or other members of civil society,” they said.

“We urge the Philippines to take immediate steps to create and maintain in law and in practice a safe and enabling environment for civil society and human rights defenders,” added the 32 countries.

They also stressed that sexual violence should never be tolerated, apparently in reference to the rape jokes of the Duterte.

Duterte’s supporters criticized Callamard last month when she visited the country to attend a forum on drug policy.

The Philippine government has invited her to conduct an official visit, but it set limitations including a public debate with the president.

Callamard said these are against the terms of reference for special rapporteurs.