CHR asks gov't to act on UN findings on human rights situation in Philippines
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission of Human Rights called on the government to acknowledge and address the concerns of a United Nations office on the human rights situation in the country.
In a report released Thursday, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs has unleashed “widespread and systemic killing” of thousands of alleged drug personalities with “near impunity.”
The UN rights office also highlighted in its report that vilification of dissent and attacks against perceived critics of the government are being “increasingly institutionalized and normalized in ways that will be very difficult to reverse.”
In a statement Friday, the country’s national human rights institution urged the government to address the UN rights office’s observations with definitive steps necessary to establish transparency and accountability.
“The government has a continuing obligation to pursue social justice, uphold human dignity and rights and put an end to impunity for all human rights violations,” the commission said.
“It is the duty of the Philippine government to show adherence to human rights principles and standards and act on the findings of the High Commission—fully noting that the said report has considerably relied on government reports and data, alongside the views of civil society and CHR,” it added.
While it said the Duterte administration did not solely create the climate of impunity in the country, the CHR stressed the current leadership’s present attitudes and behavior toward human rights have allowed it to “acutely manifest” today.
Government’s cooperation
The UN report also called for investigation into the human rights situation in the Philippines given the scale of violations and abuses and the failure of domestic remedies in bringing perpetrators to justice.
The CHR, for its part, asked the government to respect its constitutional mandates on human rights, promotion and protection.
“We urge cooperation in independent investigations, the creation of an enabling civic space and protection of human rights defenders so we can collectively work for the human rights cause,” it said.
The report of the UN rights office will be presented this June to the UN Human Rights Council, which mandated a comprehensive review of the drug crackdown last year.
In 2018, the International Criminal Court launched a preliminary examination of Duterte’s alleged crimes against humanity in the context of the government’s drug war. A preliminary examination will determine if the Hague-based tribunal has the jurisdiction to open a full-blown investigation.
The current administration has repeatedly denied it has a policy to kill alleged drug suspects in a campaign launched by Duterte after winning 2016 elections with his ruthless anti-narcotics and anti-crime platform.
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