war on drugs

• ICC urged to resume its investigation into alleged crimes against humanity in the Philippines

  Honourable Karim A. A. Khan QC
  Prosecutor
  The Office of the Prosecutor
  International Criminal Court
  Oude Waalsdorperweg 10, 2597 AK Den Haag, Netherlands

  To ICC Prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan

  We, human rights organisations working on the Philippines, call on your office to resume its investigation into alleged crimes against humanity, in relation to the country’s ‘war on drugs’.

  In its 10 November 2021 letter, the Philippine Government raised issues of complementarity, citing that it has domestic mechanisms in place to investigate the killings. However, we reiterate concerns that of an estimated tens of thousands killed in the ‘war on drugs’, only a small number were covered in the review of documents by the country’s Department of Justice. Of these cases, the Justice Department cited only procedural errors, and most police officers involved in human rights violations merely received suspensions, raising concerns on the Philippines’ commitment to justice.

  The government likewise refuses to investigate the national policy landscape that enabled these killings, including the National Police Commission’s Memorandum Circular, which launched Operation Double Barrel, implementing the President’s ‘war on drugs’. On this account, the highest officials most responsible for the widespread human rights violations are escaping official domestic investigations.

  The Philippines’ human rights record speaks for itself. There has only been one criminal conviction out of the huge number of estimated extrajudicial killings. The government continues to refuse to work with the National Human Rights which has done intensive investigations into many cases of such killings.

  To date, there has been no independent body established and relatives of victims remain fearful of reprisals should they cooperate with independent investigations.The country’s President has incited violence against his critics while assuring protection to the police officers involved in the ‘war on drugs’. In light of this, what we see is a government that has used domestic mechanisms only to shield perpetrators from international accountability.

  We reiterate that the ICC investigation has wider implications beyond the Philippines. When the investigation was announced, it sent a message of hope to victims in the country and across the region where people continue to face State-sponsored violence. Civil society had hoped that the ICC would serve as a deterrent to human rights atrocities perpetrated by many authoritarian leaders across Asia. However, an order of deferment may be used to incite a disregard for international accountability.

  We have, over the past five years, documented cases of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and other crimes against humanity. We work with victims, who, until this day, are afraid to speak because of the real threat of reprisals. The ‘war on drugs’ has expanded into a war on civic space and a war against its people, where critics and civil society opposing the ‘war on drugs’ have been systematically targeted.

  As perpetrators of these violations once again try to take power in the coming 2022 national elections, any deferment poses risks that this cycle of impunity will only continue. The ICC was established to provide justice to victims of the gravest violations. We remain committed in supporting the Court in the pursuit of this mission.

  Signatories

  Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
  BALAOD Mindanaw
  CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
  Karapatan Alliance Philippines
  DAKILA - Philippine Collective for Modern Heroism
  Human Rights Online Philippines (HRonlinePH)
  In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDefend)
  LILAK (Purple Action for Indigenous Women's Rights)
  Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA)
  Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights)
  Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP)

  Civic space in the Philippines is rated as repressed by the CIVICUS Monitor

• Philippines: Lack of action by the UN Human Rights Council risks abandoning victims of human rights abuses

  Without a resolution at the upcoming 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ (OHCHR) mandate to report on the Philippines will expire.

  In this joint letter, CIVICUS and other non-governmental organisations call for members and observer states at the HRC to adopt a resolution on the Philippines that continues and strengthens its reporting mandate. In the absence of secure and effective spaces for deliberations at the domestic level, OHCHR’s reporting and the debate that follows it at the HRC are key for victims who continue to seek justice and accountability for human rights violations, including those committed in the context of the so-called “war on drugs.”

  READ THE FULL LETTER

• Philippines: UN must investigate lethal war on drugs

  🇵🇭#Philippines: The lethal war on drugs continues with the number of victims rising again in the past six months.
  
  Our statement with @karapatan at #HRC47 calls on @UN_HRC to launch a long-overdue independent investigation: https://t.co/PkoxUCPrmd pic.twitter.com/WviZN8aOfV

  — CIVICUS (@CIVICUSalliance) July 5, 2021

   

  Statement at the 47th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

  ---

  Delivered by Karapatan Deputy Secretary General, Roneo Clamor

  I speak on behalf of 19 national and international organisations focused on the Philippines. The lethal war on drugs continues with the number of victims rising again in the past six months.