HRW renews call for UN, ICC investigations on Duterte’s war on drugs

A New York-based human rights watchdog has renewed its call for the United Nations and International Criminal Court to look into the "summary killings" being linked to President Rodrigo Duterte's crackdown on illegal drugs.

Duterte marked two years in office last Saturday which the Human Rights Watch (HRW) called a "day of mourning."

"Mourning for the thousands of poor Filipinos that have been subjected to brutal summary killings by the police and 'unidentified gunmen' — who are often also state agents — incited and instigated by Duterte and his henchmen who continue to pursue this murderous campaign while systematically silencing any meaningful opposition and calls for accountability," HRW Asia researcher Carlos Conde said in a statement over the weekend.

"Two years later, the killings and the Duterte government’s efforts to eviscerate rule of law continue. It needs to stop," he added.

Conde also insisted that the UN and ICC should probe these killings and the role of the Duterte administration and the Philippine National Police "in what may well constitute crimes against humanity."

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, in response, challenged critics to just file cases against Duterte before the local prosecutor.

"That's nothing new from HRW. Again, if there's evidence, file it before the Prosecutor's Office. But we can't convict President Duterte on the basis of say so," Roque said in a text message to GMA News Online.

According to #RealNumbersPH, the Philippine government's consolidated data on the anti-illegal drugs campaign, 4,279 drug suspects were killed and 143,335 suspects were arrested from July 1, 2016 to May 15, 2018.

The killings and arrests stemmed from 99,485 anti-drug operations conducted during the period.

Criticisms against the anti-illegal drugs campaign had reached the ICC, which opened in February a preliminary examination on allegations that Duterte and other senior administration officials have committed crimes against humanity due to the increasing number of killings of drug personalities.

In March, Duterte announced the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Hague-based tribunal, citing the "baseless, unprecedented and outrageous" attacks against him and his administration and the alleged attempt of the ICC prosecutor to place him under its jurisdiction.

He also urged other nations to get out of the ICC. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News