Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy
Concern Growing in Asia, US, World Over Philippines Extrajudicial Drug War Killings
In Advance of ASEAN Summit, More Than 270 NGOs, Political Leaders, Human Rights and Health Advocates Call for International Pressure -- and for Justice
pcoo.gov.ph
Of the more than 200 NGO endorsers on the statement, more than 40 are based in Asia, including a majority of ASEAN member states as well as India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The statement also lists several Asia-wide networks on issues such as HIV, transgender and drug user concerns, and youth democracy activism.
A political component of the statement's outreach efforts is in the early stages, but includes legislators from Canada, Italy, Cambodia, and Washington State, as well as other political and governmental officials from Singapore, Canada and the UK.
"We call for a process of accountability, starting with a UN-led investigation," says the statement. "We likewise call on world leaders attending the ASEAN Summit to unequivocally call for an end to the killings and for human rights to be respected."
The statement notes: "Since the Philippines escalated its 'drug war' in June of last year, over 3,900 people have been killed in anti-drug operations, with nearly 2,300 more drug-related murders and thousands still 'unexplained,' according to police reports. Estimates by media and human rights groups for the total drug war killings have ranged from 7,000 up to 14,000. Appearance suggests there may be a deliberate policy of extrajudicial killing." (References are available in the statement's end notes section.)
The statement was organized by a coalition including the leading human rights organizations in the Philippines, Filipino American advocacy groups, drug policy reform, HIV/AIDS groups and others. It was coordinated by the Washington-DC based organization StoptheDrugWar.org, whose executive director David Borden organized a forum on extrajudicial killings at the UN in Vienna last March that became highly controversial in the Philippines.
Notable signatories on the document include the National Organization for Women (NOW), Doctors of the World, the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG, a nationwide Philippines human rights lawyers group founded during the Marcos dictatorship years), Treatment Communities of America, prominent human rights advocate and actor of MASH fame Mike Farrell, former police chief of Seattle Norm Stamper, and others.
"President Duterte has defined a particular section of Philippine society as inhuman & worthy of elimination -- namely the poor," said Ellecer Carlos, spokesperson for In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDEFEND), the largest human rights coalition in the Philippines. "Instead of caring for these people and addressing the root cause of their problems, this present leadership has chosen to assault and further brutalize them."
Carlos was featured speaker at a forum at the US Congress's Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in July. 'A bill in the US Senate to impose human rights conditions on law enforcement assistance to the Philippines, "The Philippines Human Rights Accountability and Counternarcotics Act of 2017," was introduced in May by Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), and has 'seven cosponsors. Lantos Commission co-chairs Reps. Randy Hultgren (R-IL) and James McGovern (D-MA) sent a 'letterto President Trump this week urging him to "impress upon President Duterte the United States' profound concern over reported extra-judicial killings associated with the Philippine government's 'war on drugs.'"
Ago Pedalizo of the Filipino American Human Rights Alliance (FAHRA) said, "President Duterte, through reprehensible public statements, has instigated unabated extrajudicial killings of thousands of drug suspects by police and vigilante elements as part of his war on drugs. We call on the Philippine government to conduct a thorough and effective investigation of the killings, and to fully cooperate with investigations by international human rights advocates."
"It is unfortunate that President Trump has repeatedly praised not only Duterte personally, but Duterte's bloody drug war too," said Borden. "I hope that both presidents change course on this. In the meantime, Congress should step in by including language from the Cardin/Rubio bill in the pending State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill."
The statement concludes: "The world is at a crossroads. At this uncertain time, lawlessness and extrajudicial violence must not become a model for more countries. When human rights are attacked, all are called on to act -- by individual conscience, age-old moral principles, and the global agreements seeking peace and security for all. The time for action is now."
Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
Comments
Duterte
This animal has been killing with impunity his entire political career.He killed "criminals" as mayor and now he kills mayor's as drug addicts or dealers.He just kills with total impunity in a nation that elected him,knowing he was a killer with over 60% of the vote.He allowed ISIS to take one of his nations cities while he was diverted totally into slaughtering drug users.He's quite obviously what would most certainly be deemed insane in the west.It's nice now that the numbers of paid assassinations has reached 7,000 that the global community is finally noticed.This is just further proof that people don't consider drug addicts as people.The slaughter,by paid assassinations,through the elected government,of 7000 of it's citisens couldn;t go on this far if it was any other minority.The opioid crisis here has shown the little regard we have for addicts in this country.In Canada,police are shutting down the safe injection sites manned by volunteers,even in places where these sites are all there is.The government institutions being overwhelmed.As well as the reticence to form any new SIS.
An army of trolls
Yeah, "Dik Hed" (appropriate name) says marijuana users should be executed by the police. It is amazing what an army of trolls the Philippines has rounded up.
In reply to An army of trolls by Thinking person (not verified)
Crazy, i had the same
Crazy, i had the same thought. Either way i think too he is a troll or a complete fool. Whats happening here in the Philippines is insane.I worked in Cebu City and in Bohol (were we needed to leave because of shootings whitch the local IS terrorists). The funny thing is Cannabis is a part of the history of the country and many landraces come from there and i saw so many people with weed leafs on shirts or sprayed at walls but i didn't smell it once.
Extreme poverty and ultra radical corrupt politicans with no qualms is all it's need to mass murder people like in a fascist regime and the sad thing is they can sell it to the people as a good thing...
Can someone please translate this and is sponsored by the local alcohol company???
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