(Eagle News) — Amnesty International urged the United Nations to “immediately open an investigation into gross human rights violations and possible crimes against humanity committed as part of the ‘war on drugs’ of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
It also urged the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to “expedite its examination into the situation and open a full and thorough criminal investigation.”
The Amnesty report was entitled “They just kill: Ongoing extrajudicial executions and other violations in the Philippines’ ‘war on drugs”
It accused the Philippine police of “operating with total impunity as they murder people from poor neighbourhoods whose names appear on manufactured “drug watch lists” established outside of any legal process.”
Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southeast Asia, accused the Duterte administration of committing large-scale murder in its drug war.
“Three years on, President Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ continues to be nothing but a large-scale murdering enterprise for which the poor continue to pay the highest price,” said Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southeast Asia.
“It is time for the United Nations, starting with its Human Rights Council, to act decisively to hold President Duterte and his government accountable,” he said.
The organization called on the UN Human Rights Council “to immediately initiate an independent, impartial and effective investigation into human rights violations in the ‘war on drugs,’ including the commission of crimes under international law.”
-Field research in Bulacan-
In its report, Amnesty International said that their reseachers undertook field research in April 2019 in the country, particularly in Bulacan, examining 20 incidents of drug-related killings.
“Bulacan is now the country’s bloodiest killing field, according to official figures. The victims of the drug-related killings examined by Amnesty International were overwhelmingly from poor and marginalised communities, in line with past research findings showing that the government’s anti-drug efforts chiefly target the poor.
Amnesty International said it “interviewed 58 people, including witnesses of extrajudicial executions, families of victims, and local officials.”
“In the 20 incidents examined – 18 involving killings in police operations and two involving killings by unknown armed persons – a total of 27 people were killed.
“Based on witness testimonies and other credible information, half of the cases appear to have been extrajudicial executions,” the group said.
