Action Alert

Two Hundred Families Call for a Health Response to Overdoses, Not Punishment [FEATURE]

by psmith, September 14, 2023, 10:09pm, (Issue #1196)

In the face of the continuing overdose crisis and the regressive resort to punitive drug war tactics such as drug-induced homicide laws to combat it, a group of friends and family members of drug users, including many who have lost loved ones to drug overdoses, is calling on Congress to stand firm against looking to more criminalization and prosecution as a solution.

The people of Broken No More (broken-no-more.org)

In collaboration with the Drug Policy Alliance, the group, Broken No More, last week sent an open letter to lawmakers urging them to oppose more failed drug war policies and instead embrace evidence-based health responses proven to save lives and prevent other families from suffering the loss of loved ones.

"Opportunistic politicians supported by law enforcement are using the overdose crisis and parents' grief to pass harsh drug laws that will only continue to fill our morgues and prisons," the open letter says. "Punitive laws will not bring our loved ones back, but they will subject other parents' children to more suffering and deny them the support that can keep them alive."

The group makes concrete demands of Congress about what it does and does not want. It says "no more" to drug-induced homicide laws, new mandatory minimum sentencing laws, or new laws increasing penalties for the possession of personal use amounts of illicit drugs.

Instead, it calls for "health-based solutions focused on overdose prevention, harm reduction, and drug treatment," including drug decriminalization (with the savings invested in addiction services and social supports), the panoply of harm reduction measures from needle exchanges and drug checking to safe injection sites, effective voluntary drug treatment options (including access on demand for opioid disorder medications buprenorphine and methadone, "reality based drug education," and removing civil punishments for drug use (in food, housing, and employment).

"As a mother who lost her 16-year-old son to overdose, I strongly oppose imposing harsher penalties for those involved in drug-related deaths," said Tamara Olt, MD, executive director of Broken No More. "It is enough that one family has been devastated by the loss of their loved one. It is cruel and unjust for a second family to lose their child to incarceration and the laws will increase deaths by making people afraid to get help for someone experiencing an overdose. I support a health-based approach, harm reduction, and safer supply to cease the senseless and preventable overdose deaths that are increasing exponentially. No one is disposable."

"I lost my son, my only child, Jeff, to an overdose. But he didn't have to die. There were two people with Jeff that day, one of whom had sold him the heroin he used. They could have called for help but, instead, they pulled him from the SUV and left him on a lawn. And while people will say that they were monsters, they weren't. The monster was fear. Fear of the police. Fear of arrest. Fear of spending 20 years to life in prison. It was fear that killed my son," said Denise Cullen, LCSW, co-founder of Broken No More. "Criminalization and punitive drug laws have resulted in nothing but more imprisonment, more deaths, and more devastated families. We must, instead, invest in health-based solutions that will save the lives of the ones we love. Laws that charge people with murder for a drug-related death may sound like a good idea. Until that is, it's your child that dies on a lawn."

"We stand behind the families who are bravely fighting for the right policy solutions so that no one else has to go through the heartbreak and pain they have experienced. Their voices are abundantly clear that the best way to address the overdose crisis is through continued investment in public health resources and services rather than doubling down on the deeply flawed, unjust, and failed punitive approaches of the past," said Emily Kaltenbach, senior director of state advocacy and criminal legal reform at the Drug Policy Alliance. "Turning to health solutions instead of punishment is the right way forward. People all across the country are looking for answers to the problems of public safety, mass criminalization, racist policing, addiction, overdose, and homelessness. But we know that punishing people for possessing drugs for personal use is not the answer to these issues."

For a complete list of signatories go here. Other parents and family members who have lost loved ones can sign the letter here.

ALERT: House of Representatives Voting on MORE Act This Week!

by borden, December 01, 2020, 03:37pm, (Issue #1116)

Dear reformer:

The US House of Representatives is scheduled to take an historic, first-ever vote on marijuana legalization this week! A hearing before the vote is scheduled for tomorrow morning (Wednesday), so please take action as soon as you can!

The MORE Act (Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019) will remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, decriminalizing it at the federal level and allowing states to move forward with legalization. It will allow marijuana businesses access to banking services. And it will enact social justice measures to help the communities most impacted by the drug war, like expungement of past convictions and equity measures for the legal marijuana industry. Read more about the MORE Act here.

If you're a US voter, please write your member of Congress using our online action alert. When you're done, please call them too -- use the Congressional Switchboard main number, (202) 224-3121, then ask to be transferred.

This historic moment is also a really important one. I hope we can count on your support to get the MORE Act through the House of Representatives now, and then as we take it from there!

Sincerely,

David Borden, Executive Director
StoptheDrugWar.org
Washington, DC
https://stopthedrugwar.org

Volunteers Needed: Online Signature Gathering for Psychedelic and Drug Decrim Initiatives

by borden, May 28, 2020, 08:48pm, (Issue #1098)

Dear reformer:

The pandemic has been hard on ballot initiative campaigns that need to gather signatures to get on the ballot. But there are some important drug policy initiatives that have a real chance of getting their needed signatures, but which need some help.

Initiative 81 in the District of Columbia would make enforcement against offenses involving entheogenic plants or mushrooms a lowest priority for law enforcement. Submitted in December to the DC Board of Elections by the group Decriminalize Nature DC, I-81's chances of getting onto the ballot were threatened by when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Earlier this month, though, the Board of Elections not only approved it for signature gathering, but granted permission for circulators of the initiative to sign their own petitions. This means that any DC voter can download, print and sign a copy, and return it to the campaign. The campaign is also mailing copies to people who request it.

Wherever you live, you can help get I-81 onto the ballot through phone banking. Today there's a virtual rally for volunteers with guest Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps CEO David Bronner. (It might be too late to join today's rally -- I'm sorry we didn't catch today's opportunity sooner, to let you know sooner.)

In Oregon, Initiative Petition 34 to legalize psilocybin mushroom-assisted therapy has also gone to online signature gathering. The campaign is within 10,000 signatures of what they need to qualify for the ballot, but needs your help for the rest too. Again, you can sign if you're an Oregon voter, but you can volunteer to help from anywhere. Please see our action alert for how to get involved.

And if you're helping with Oregon, you can help two initiatives at once. The Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act, IP-44, which would decriminalize illegal substances, needs help with electronic signature gathering too. IP-44 is only 5,500 valid signatures away from qualifying.

This is not a comprehensive list of drug reform initiatives that are trying to move forward despite the pandemic. Many have had to postpone their plans, but a number are still trying. For today at least, those are our suggestions for how to help, and I hope you can.

Sincerely,

David Borden, Executive Director
StoptheDrugWar.org
Washington, DC
https://stopthedrugwar.org

Action Alert: You Can Legalize Psychedelic Therapy in Oregon This Year

by borden, April 14, 2020, 10:56pm, (Issue #1093)

In this time of crisis and disruption, advocates of all kinds are figuring out how best to continue their missions. Many good efforts have been postponed – this issue of Drug War Chronicle notes two state initiative campaigns forced to wait for another year.

That's not the case with Oregon's IP 34, which will legalize the use of psilocybin mushrooms in psychotherapy for people who urgently need it. Research at top universities like UCLA and Johns Hopkins shows that psilocybin therapy can help people suffering from depression, anxiety and trauma, enabling people to process traumatic experiences and break destructive patterns. IP 34 was developed with the help of mental health experts. It will provide access to this therapy to adults who can safely benefit.

IP 34 is also part of the next stage of drug policy reform, which seeks to broaden decriminalization, medical use and personal use efforts to include more drugs than marijuana. The prospect that psychedelic reform could advance in November is a light glimmering right now, in a time that's mostly dark.

You can make this happen. The campaign has gathered more than 128,000 signatures, but it needs 17,000 more by July 2nd. Fortunately, Oregon law allows for online petitioning. If you're an Oregon voter, you can sign it online. If you live or at least know people who live in Oregon, you can join the volunteer team.

If you're an Oregon voter, download a copy of the petition to sign and mail in. The campaign can also send a volunteer to pick it up. Make sure to carefully follow the instructions the campaign provides on how to correctly sign and print it.

Whether you vote or live in Oregon, you can help get the petition to people who do. Fill out the campaign's volunteer form to let them know you want to help, and in the meanwhile post and circulate this announcement and the campaign's web site.

I hope you will join us in helping this important effort. You can learn more about the promise held by psychedelic psychotherapy from an informative post by David Bronner, CEO of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps.

ALERT: Save Marijuana Legalization

by borden, January 10, 2018, 12:59pm, (Issue #1005)

Last week, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions reversed the Cole Memo, Obama-era Dept. of Justice policy that protected state laws legalization marijuana or allowed medical marijuana. Your help is needed TODAY, to save marijuana policy reform from the Trump administration. Please do two things:

1) Write to Congress using our online action form.

2) Call your US Representative and your two US Senators about this. You can reach them (or find out who they are) through the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. The text of the letter in our form will guide you as to what to say in the call.

Sessions has gotten a lot of negative reaction for this move, from across the political spectrum. That means we have a chance of turning it back, but we need you to take action now. Thank you for supporting this effort.

ALERT: Trump is Promoting Savage Human Rights Abuses in Countries' Drug Wars

by borden, January 10, 2018, 12:48pm, (Issue #1005)

Dear Reformer:

First, if you haven't already taken action to help us save marijuana legalization from the Trump administration, in the wake of Jeff Sessions revoking a federal policy that protected both legalization and medical marijuana, please read my post and action alert from Monday, and then write and call Congress. If you want more info on what's happened, check out Phil's weekend report on the national pushback against the Sessions move too.

Yesterday I promised a second alert this week, about how Donald Trump is promoting savage human rights abuses in other countries' drug wars. The biggest case is that of the Philippines, but unfortunately it is no longer the only one, and Trump's words have contributed. Sadly Trump has continued his amoral conduct on this matter as recently as last week.

In the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte became president of the Philippines in June 2016, having promised to slaughter hundreds of thousands of drugs users and sellers. An estimated 16,000 people have since been murdered by police and government-supported vigilante groups under the guise of drug enforcement.

(Visit https://stopthedrugwar.org/philippines to learn about our work on this issue. And if you haven't already supported our efforts to pass S. 1055, the Philippines Human Rights Accountability and Counternarcotics Act, please take action on it now.)

Trump, who in July drew condemnation from US law enforcement leaders for urging police to bash suspects' heads on car door frames when arresting them, has also voiced approval for Duterte's killing campaign, though without calling it that. First, in December 2016 Trump and Duterte spoke on the phone, after which Duterte claimed that Trump praised his drug policies.

While Duterte could have made that up, the Trump team never rebutted the claim. And when the two spoke again in April, a statement on the White House web site said they discussed "fighting very hard to rid its country of drugs," and a leaked transcript of the call quotes Trump congratulating Duterte for doing an "'unbelievable job' in the war on drugs." Neither Trump nor his staff have qualified these statements to exclude the killings from that praise. And the president has never backed up his own State Department's careful statements on the matter.

Last weekend, Trump claimed during his Camp David speech that countries with "very harsh drug policies" have "much less difficulty." Of course Trump made that up – not surprising for a person who tells an average of 5.5 lies per day, or more recently nine lies per day. There are countries like Iran, which is one of the world's leading executioners for drug offenses, but continues to have an extensive and growing narcotics problem. And there are countries like Portugal, which has decriminalized the use of all drugs, with impressive and positive results.

When the person telling a lie like that is the President of the United States, it has an impact on what leaders in other countries think they can get away with. Trump has thereby contributed to a larger "Duterte effect" in the region. The drug war killings have spread to Indonesia, where President Widodo is using them as a populist campaign tactic in a tough election campaign. In November a member of Malaysia's parliament called for Duterte-style killings in that country. And last week Turkey's Interior Minister said police should break drug dealers' legs. In the context of Trump's past comments on the Philippines drug war, clearly such people are going to interpret his most recent remark as greenlighting the abuses they are calling for too, and it reduces the pressure on the Duterte administration.

It is necessary for Congress to rebuke President Trump by making a statement on this issue. If you haven't already supported our efforts to pass S. 1055, the Philippines Human Rights Accountability and Counternarcotics Act, please take action on it now. There is a chance that language from the bill or similar to it could make it into Congress's foreign operations appropriations, and that could happen as soon as the 22nd of this month.

Along with taking action to pass the bill, I hope you'll read about our extensive continuing efforts to stop the Philippines drug war killings and reform UN drug policy, and our other programs. I also hope you'll consider signing up for a recurring or one-time donation to support our work – our donation form accepts credit card, PayPal, and now checking account payments by ACH.

Thank you for reading this far, and for joining us in opposing these depradations of the Trump administration.

Sincerely,

David Borden, Executive Director
StoptheDrugWar.org
P.O. Box 9853, Washington, DC 20016
https://stopthedrugwar.org

Save Marijuana Legalization

by borden, January 08, 2018, 02:17pm

1) Write to Congress using the action form below.

Action Alerts, #GivingTuesday, Issue 1000, Remembering Rep. Hinchey

by borden, November 24, 2017, 02:20pm

I hope that those of you who mark Thanksgiving had a good holiday. I'm writing today with some time-sensitive action alerts for those of us in the US, with some updates related to our organization, and some observations on recent news.

1. Medical Marijuana Is Under Threat: As you may have read on our web site and from other sources, medical marijuana in the US is facing its greatest threat in years. Since late 2014, legislation currently known as the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment, a clause of the "Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies" (CJS) budget, has protected medical marijuana providers, by forbidding the US Dept. of Justice from spending taxpayer funds to interfere with state medical marijuana laws.

Unfortunately, like other laws related to the budget, the amendment needs to be reauthorized by Congress each year to stay in effect. And while it's passed in the Senate already, Republican leaders in the House of Representatives prevented the well-supported bipartisan measure from getting a vote. This situation means that the fate of the amendment, and perhaps of medical marijuana itself, will be decided by a House-Senate "conference committee" charged with reconciling the two chambers' CJS bills. If that fails to happen, there's no telling what the Jeff Sessions Justice Department under the Trump administration will do.

Our request is for you to call your US Representative's office in Washington, DC and ask them to support medical marijuana by insisting the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment be included in the final version of the Commerce Justice Science appropriations bill. You can reach your rep's office through the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Please email us at [email protected] to let us know, especially if the office tells you anything about what your congressman plans to do. I also hope you'll fill our our write-to-Congress form on this issue here– that will enable us to let you know if you're in a state or district represented on the conference committee.

There is likely to a Continuing Resolution on the budget by Friday, December 8th, when the current resolution expires. Please take action on this before then.

2. We Still Need Your Help to Stop the Philippines Drug War Bloodbath: Last week I emailed and posted about S. 1055, the "Philippines Human Rights Accountability and Counternarcotics Act of 2017," which would impose human rights conditions on law enforcement assistance to the Philippines, while funding good programs there that provide alternatives to the drug war. This week Pres. Duterte signaled that he plans to ramp up his drug war killing campaign again.

President Trump has contributed to the slaughter, first by praising Duterte's anti-drug campaign two times while the killings continued, and then through his silence or near-silence on the matter at the ASEAN Summit earlier this month. That means Congress needs to take action. Please write to Congress in support of S. 1055, and when you're done please ask your two US Senators to pass the bill, and your US Representative to support companion legislation in the House.

We especially need your help if your Representative is on the House Appropriations Committee, or if either of your Senators is on the Senate Appropriations Committee. We need your help triply more even than that, if you live in Tennessee, or in Rep. Ed Royce's Congressional district in the LA/Orange County area.

Here again we are asking you to act before December 8th before the new budget resolution gets done. And please check out our sign-on statement and press coverage to see what else we're doing about this.

3. #GivingTuesday: This Tuesday, November 28th, is #GivingTuesday, a global campaign by many individuals and organizations to encourage giving to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. I hope you will take the opportunity to support our organization and other good causes you believe in.

I'm going to be honest and say that it has gotten harder to raise money for this kind of work, despite the great progress that we're making. We could use your help. If you've given in the past but not lately, or if you've been thinking of starting to support us financially, maybe #GivingTuesday will be the day! Our About page and other pages it links to have lots more information on our programs to help you decide.

The online donation forms for our 501(c)(3) nonprofit, DRCNet Foundation, and our 501(c)(4) lobbying nonprofit Drug Reform Coordination Network, support making donations by credit card or PayPal; and you can make a donation on a one-time basis, or for a recurring donation monthly, quarterly or annually. Our mailing address to donate that way instead is P.O. Box 9853, Washington, DC 20016. You can find info on donating stocks in the donations section of our About page.

4. Issue 1000 of the Drug War Chronicle newsletter: You may have noticed that the latest issue of our Drug War Chronicle newsletter, sent out Wednesday, was #998. In less than two weeks we are publishing issue #1000!

If you're a Chronicle regular, please help us mark the occasion by sending a testimonial about how you use the newsletter to further reform. And be sure to check your email or our web site for Phil Smith' review of what's changed during the 20 years since the Chronicle was launched.

Donations to DRCNet Foundation, as linked above, can support the Chronicle, or our other educational and non-lobbying programs.

5. Remembering Maurice Hinchey: The Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment that I wrote about above, which protects medical marijuana, originally was called the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment. It was named after its first lead Democratic sponsor, Rep. Maurice Hinchey of New York state. We were saddened to read news of his passing at age 79.

Another issue Rep. Hinchey worked on was one we played a role in for many years, repealing a provision of the Higher Education Act passed in 1998 that delays or denies financial aid for college to students because of drug convictions. Thanks in part to Rep. Hinchey's support, the law got scaled back in 2006, and legislation to further scale it back passed the House in 2010.

Rep. Hinchey spoke at a press conference we organized outside the US Capitol in May 2002, and at other events for the issue, along with all his other good work. We've missed him in Congress since he retired in 2013, and he will be even more missed now, by us and many others.

ALERT: Medical Marijuana Is Under Threat -- Tell Congress to Act!

by borden, November 24, 2017, 01:08pm

For the first time in years, there's a chance that the federal budget law which has protected medical marijuana won't get reauthorized. That would give Jeff Sessions' Justice Department a legal green light they haven't had since 2014 to go after medical marijuana providers and undermine state laws. Please tell Congress to act now to stop this from happening.

Update and Action Alert: Trump, Duterte, Congress, and the Philippine Drug War Killings

by borden, November 17, 2017, 08:59am, (Issue #997)

Dear Reformer:

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte met for the first time, during the ASEAN Summit in Manila which Duterte hosted. As predicted, Trump did not raise human rights during their meeting, although a White House spokesperson claimed it came up "briefly" during a private discussion.

The top human rights issue Trump might have brought up with Duterte is the campaign of drug war killings that Duterte promised during his presidential campaign, and which he has followed through on since taking office in June last year. Human rights organizations and media have given estimates ranging from 7,000 to 14,000 killed already.

In a sign-on statement I organized, which has been endorsed by nearly 300 NGOs and prominent individuals and which we released this week in advance of the Trump-Duterte meeting, we note that the Philippine National Police (PNP) acknowledge over 3,900 people have been killed in anti-drug operations under the Duterte administration, plus nearly 2,300 more drug-related murders and thousands still "unexplained." Our statement also notes the Philippines saw a roughly 50% increase in its official homicide rate, starting immediately when Duterte took office – hard to explain in the absence of an official policy of extrajudicial killing.

The statement was covered in articles on four important Philippines news outlets, including the Inquirer, Rappler (8^th and 12^th most read web sites in the Philippines respectively), the Philippine Star and InterAksyon. The Interaksyon article credited our coalition with renewing global calls for a UN-led probe into the drug war killings. Leading human rights organizations in the Philippines, Filipino American groups, top NGOs like NOW and Doctors of the World, and many others supported the statement. More than 50 of the NGOs endorsing it are based in Asia, including groups from a majority of the ASEAN states.

Should Trump have met individually with Duterte, and should he have pressed Duterte on human rights when he did? World leaders need to communicate with each other, and there's room for debate as to how best a US president should juggle competing interests. Unfortunately, Trump's silence on human rights during ASEAN leaves standing some incredibly harmful statements he has made on the matter in the past:

In December Trump and Duterte spoke on the phone, and Duterte claimed Trump praised his drug policies. While Duterte could have made that up, the Trump team never rebutted the claim.
After Trump and Duterte spoke again in April, a statement on the White House web site said they discussed " fighting very hard to rid its country of drugs," with no qualification of that statement, implicit praise for Duterte's policies.
A transcript of the April conversation leaked to Rappler quotes Trump congratulating Duterte for doing an "'unbelievable job' in the war on drugs."

We will never know for sure if Trump's implicit greenlighting of Duterte's mass killing campaign led to more such killings, but it's possible. Clearly the president of Indonesia, who launched his own drug war mass murder campaign as part of a reelection strategy in August, must have taken note.

If the president won't lead on human rights, or even arguably helps to make things worse, then Congress should step in. That's why we are supporting S. 1055, "The Philippines Human Rights Accountability and Counternarcotics Act of 2017," bipartisan legislation introduced by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). Although not perfect, S. 1055 would impose important human rights conditions on law enforcement assistance to the Philippines, and would fund positive health programs as well as the work of Philippine human rights defenders. Among the bill's supporters are Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the iDEFEND human rights coalition in the Philippines, the Filipino American Human Rights Alliance, US Filipinos for Good Governance, and our close partners the Drug Policy Alliance.

Along with sending you this update, I also have the following three requests:

If you are a US voter, please write to Congress in support of S. 1055, using the online write-to-Congress form we've set up. Please follow up on your email by calling your state's two Senators and your Representative. (But please do use the form too – this will enable us to contact you if you live in a key state or district.) The time to do this is now, because we are trying to influence the pending State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, over the next few weeks.
Please help to publicize our statement and S. 1055. You can use the set of sample social posts we've prepared for Facebook and Twitter, copied below my signature. You can also go straight to our Twitter page, @stopthedrugwar, where we have already retweeted some of these as posted by others. We'll be posting more to Twitter and to our Facebook group later as well.
We need your financial support for this effort, and for other work like publishing the Drug War Chronicle newsletter, a key tool for advocates and many others in the issue. Tax-deductible donations to our 501(c)(3) nonprofit, DRCNet Foundation, will support work like the Philippines statement and the newsletter. Non-deductible donations to our 501(c)(4) nonprofit, Drug Reform Coordination Network, will support our legislative work directly supporting S. 1055, and other legislative matters in the US. If you would like to designate a gift for a specific program, please leave a note in the comment box on our donation form, or with your check if donating by mail. Links to both nonprofits' donation forms can be found at http://stopthedrugwar.org/donate, and our mailing address is P.O. Box 9853, Washington, DC 20016.

Thank you for helping and for your time reading this update. As we noted in the closing paragraphs of our Philippines statement, "Support for the global system of responsibilities and rights has become uncertain… lawlessness and extrajudicial violence must not become a model for more countries. When human rights are attacked, all are called on to act… The time for action is now."

Sincerely,

David Borden, Executive Director
StoptheDrugWar.org
P.O. Box 9853 / Washington, DC 20016
http://stopthedrugwar.org
"U.S. and U.N. Drug Policy Reform"

Here are the sample social media posts:

Please help us by spreading the statement and news coverage on social media. Following are sample posts for Facebook and Twitter.

Twitter samples:

Posts highlighting S. 1055, the Philippines human rights appropriations bill in the US Senate:

Congress should press Philippines @OfficialDuterte to stop drug war killings, if @realDonaldTrump won't: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/633065/british-paper-s-banner-photo-of-trump-duterte-says-hand-in-hand-with-a-killer/story/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wibl5h2YZdM #StoptheKillings #StartTheHealing WRITE CONGRESS: https://secure.everyaction.com/VuEJ0J0PW0uzZg1JzrB6bg2

@SenBobCorker @RepEdRoyce Please sponsor and move the Philippines Human Rights Accountability Act through your committees! http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/11/10/1757565/ahead-asean-international-coalition-calls-probe-drug-war-killings https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1055 #StoptheKillings #StartTheHealing WRITE CONGRESS: https://secure.everyaction.com/VuEJ0J0PW0uzZg1JzrB6bg2

Thank you @TLHumanRights Lantos Commission co-chairs @RepHultgren @RepMcGovern for highlighting Philippines extrajudicial drug war killings. https://www.rappler.com/nation/187940-international-coalition-decisive-actions-philippines-drug-war-killings WRITE CONGRESS: https://secure.everyaction.com/VuEJ0J0PW0uzZg1JzrB6bg2 #StopTheKillings #StartTheHealing https://humanrightscommission.house.gov/events/hearings/human-rights-consequences-war-drugs-philippines

@SenatorCardin @marcorubio Thank you for sponsoring Philippines Human Rights Accountability Act – civil society supports! http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/11/10/1757565/ahead-asean-international-coalition-calls-probe-drug-war-killings https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1055 #StoptheKillings #StartTheHealing WRITE CONGRESS: https://secure.everyaction.com/VuEJ0J0PW0uzZg1JzrB6bg2

@RepSpeier Thank you for speaking out against Philippines extrajudicial killings at @TLHumanRights – civil society supports! http://usa.inquirer.net/8011/global-coalition-calls-end-ejks-ahead-trumps-ph-visit #StopTheKillings https://humanrightscommission.house.gov/events/hearings/human-rights-consequences-war-drugs-philippines WRITE CONGRESS: https://secure.everyaction.com/VuEJ0J0PW0uzZg1JzrB6bg2

Excerpts from the Statement:

Nearly 300 NGOs and prominent individuals say: "We call for a process of accountability, starting with a UN-led investigation. We… call on world leaders attending [#ASEANSummit] to unequivocally call for an end to the [Philippines drug war] killings…" https://www.rappler.com/nation/187940-international-coalition-decisive-actions-philippines-drug-war-killings @stopthedrugwar #StopTheKillings @UNHumanRights

Nearly 300 NGOs and prominent individuals say: "Since the Philippines escalated its 'drug war'… over 3,900 people have been killed [by police] operations, with nearly 2,300 more drug-related murders and thousands still 'unexplained'" say police. http://usa.inquirer.net/8011/global-coalition-calls-end-ejks-ahead-trumps-ph-visit @stopthedrugwar #StopTheKillings

Nearly 300 NGOs and prominent individuals say: "If a government is unwilling or unable to seek justice, treaties allow for intervention by the International Criminal Court…" https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/nov/09/concern_over_philippine_killings @stopthedrugwar #StopTheKillings @IntlCrimCourt

Nearly 300 NGOs and prominent individuals say: "When human rights are attacked, all are called on to act… The time for action is now." http://www.interaksyon.com/on-eve-of-asean-summit-more-than-270-groups-individuals-renew-calls-for-un-led-probe-of-drug-war-killings/ @stopthedrugwar #StopTheKillings #StartTheHealing

Nearly 300 NGOs and prominent individuals say: "We… urge the international community to fund Philippine human rights defenders at a level matching the crisis." http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/11/10/1757565/ahead-asean-international-coalition-calls-probe-drug-war-killings @iDefendPH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGsJsfgvj_w @stopthedrugwar #StopTheKillings

Articles to Link:

Global coalition calls for end to Philippine drug war killings ahead of Trump's Philippines visit: http://usa.inquirer.net/8011/global-coalition-calls-end-ejks-ahead-trumps-ph-visit @stopthedrugwar #StopTheKillings

International coalition calls for 'decisive actions' against drug war killings in Philippines: https://www.rappler.com/nation/187940-international-coalition-decisive-actions-philippines-drug-war-killings @jodeszgavilan @rapplerdotcom @stopthedrugwar #StopTheKillings

Ahead of ASEAN, international coalition calls for probe into drug war killings: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/11/10/1757565/ahead-asean-international-coalition-calls-probe-drug-war-killings @gaeacabico @PhilstarNews @stopthedrugwar #StopTheKillings

On eve of ASEAN summit, more than 270 groups, individuals renew calls for UN-led probe of drug war killings: http://www.interaksyon.com/on-eve-of-asean-summit-more-than-270-groups-individuals-renew-calls-for-un-led-probe-of-drug-war-killings/ @interaksyon @stopthedrugwar #StopTheKillings

Press Release: Global Statement Calls for International Action on Philippine Drug War Killings https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/nov/09/concern_over_philippine_killings @stopthedrugwar #StopTheKillings

Trump Celebrates "Great Relationship" With Philippine President Duterte at ASEAN Summit http://www.drugpolicy.org/press-release/2017/11/trump-celebrates-great-relationship-philippine-president-duterte-asean-summit @MMcFarlandSM @DrugPolicyOrg @stopthedrugwar #StopTheKillings

@amnesty @hrw reports show government responsible for drug war killings: https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/if-you-are-poor-you-are-killed-extrajudicial-executions-in-the-philippines-war-on-drugs/ https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/03/02/license-kill/philippine-police-killings-dutertes-war-drugs #StopTheKillings https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/nov/09/concern_over_philippine_killings @stopthedrugwar

Thank you @JustinTrudeau for pressing @OfficialDuterte on human rights, Philippines drug war: http://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/trudeau-raises-concerns-with-duterte-over-bloody-drug-war-in-the-philippines #StopTheKillings #StartTheHealing http://usa.inquirer.net/8011/global-coalition-calls-end-ejks-ahead-trumps-ph-visit @stopthedrugwar

Thank you @jacindaardern for pressing @OfficialDuterte on human rights, Philippines drug war: https://www.rappler.com/world/regions/asia-pacific/188439-jacinda-ardern-comment-drug-war-asean-2017 #StopTheKillings #StartTheHealing http://usa.inquirer.net/8011/global-coalition-calls-end-ejks-ahead-trumps-ph-visit @stopthedrugwar

Facebook sample posts:

Posts highlighting S. 1055, the Philippines human rights appropriations bill in the US Senate:

Congress should press Philippines to stop the extrajudicial drug war killings, if President Trump won't – enact S. 1055 to put human rights conditions on aid: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/633065/british-paper-s-banner-photo-of-trump-duterte-says-hand-in-hand-with-a-killer/story/ Read the NGO statement at https://stopthedrugwar.org/files/asean-philippines-sign-on-statement-november-2017.pdf. #StopTheKillings #StartTheHealing (US write to Congress https://secure.everyaction.com/VuEJ0J0PW0uzZg1JzrB6bg2.)

Sen. Corker, Rep. Royce, please sponsor and move the Philippines Human Rights Accountability Act through your committees! http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/11/10/1757565/ahead-asean-international-coalition-calls-probe-drug-war-killings https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1055 #StoptheKillings #StartTheHealing (US write to Congress at https://secure.everyaction.com/VuEJ0J0PW0uzZg1JzrB6bg2.)

Thank you Lantos Commission co-chairs Reps. Hultgren and McGovern for highlighting Philippines extrajudicial drug war killings in your July hearing. Civil society supports you: https://www.rappler.com/nation/187940-international-coalition-decisive-actions-philippines-drug-war-killings #StopTheKilling #StartTheHealing (US write to Congress at https://secure.everyaction.com/VuEJ0J0PW0uzZg1JzrB6bg2.)

Thank you Sens. Cardin and Rubio for sponsoring Philippines Human Rights Accountability Act -- civil society supports you: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/11/10/1757565/ahead-asean-international-coalition-calls-probe-drug-war-killings #StopTheKillings #StartTheHealing

Thank you Rep. Speier for speaking out against Philippines extrajudicial killings https://humanrightscommission.house.gov/events/hearings/human-rights-consequences-war-drugs-philippines – civil society supports you: http://usa.inquirer.net/8011/global-coalition-calls-end-ejks-ahead-trumps-ph-visit #StopTheKillings #StartTheHealing (US write to Congress at https://secure.everyaction.com/VuEJ0J0PW0uzZg1JzrB6bg2.)

Excerpts from the Statement:

Articles to Link:

Other:

Amnesty International Report report shows government responsible for drug war killings: https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/if-you-are-poor-you-are-killed-extrajudicial-executions-in-the-philippines-war-on-drugs/ #StopTheKillings Civil society calls for international action: https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/nov/09/concern_over_philippine_killings

Human Rights Watch report shows government responsible for drug war killings: https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/03/02/license-kill/philippine-police-killings-dutertes-war-drugs #StopTheKillings Civil society calls for international action: https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/nov/09/concern_over_philippine_killings

Thank you Prime Minister Trudeau for pressing Duterte on human rights in the Philippines drug war: http://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/trudeau-raises-concerns-with-duterte-over-bloody-drug-war-in-the-philippines Civil society supports you -- http://usa.inquirer.net/8011/global-coalition-calls-end-ejks-ahead-trumps-ph-visit

Thank you Prime Minister Ardern for pressing Duterte on human rights in the Philippines drug war: https://www.rappler.com/world/regions/asia-pacific/188439-jacinda-ardern-comment-drug-war-asean-2017 Civil society supports you -- http://usa.inquirer.net/8011/global-coalition-calls-end-ejks-ahead-trumps-ph-visit

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