DOCUMENT: UN report on human rights abuses, persistent impunity in Philippines
MANILA, Philippines — The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released Thursday its report on the human rights situation in the Philippines, including the killings tied to President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on illegal drugs.
Based on the report, the “heavy-handed” focus of the Philippine government on combating illegal drugs and security threats has resulted in grave human rights abuses.
Some rhetoric from top officials had "risen to the level of incitement to violence" and "vilification of dissent is being increasingly institutionalized," it added.
The UN rights agency also said that human rights concerns in the country have become “more acute” in recent years as manifested by the “widespread and systematic killing” of thousands of alleged drug personalities.
The government has denied that extrajudicial killings are state policy and has said that the more than 5,000 acknowledged deaths were because "drug personalities" had violently resisted arrest.
Read the comprehensive report here:
The campaign against illegal drugs was launched by Duterte after winning the election in 2016 on a platform of crushing crimes.
Latest government figures put the number of alleged drug personalities killed in Duterte’s war on drugs at 5,601. But it is significantly lower than the estimates by human rights watchdogs of as many as 27,000 killed.
The report came at a time when various human rights groups sound alarm on the proposed “Anti-Terror” bill, which would allow longer detentions without charge and give the executive branch more power against dissent.
The report is due to be discussed during the next UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva this month. — with report from Gaea Katreena Cabico
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