After ICC drug war probe request, HRW exec hopes UNHRC will take action

With a request for an investigation into the Duterte administration's war on drug pending at the International Criminal Court (ICC), a Human Rights Watch (HRW) official voiced hope that the United Nations Human Rights Council would take action and launch its own probe into the country's situation.

To recall, the UN Human Rights Council offered to provide "technical cooperation and capacity building" to the Philippines to act on the promotion and protection of human rights in the country.

According to HRW Geneva Director John Fisher, the ICC's possible probe in the drug war could "reinforce" their message to the UN body to launch an independent investigation into the human rights situation in the Philippines.

"We feel the decision of the prosecutor to recommend investigation only reinforces what we are telling to the human rights council that an investigation is needed, is warranted. That is exactly what the High Commissioner on Human Rights also told the human rights council," he said during an online discussion with reporters.

"We think these messages come together and hopefully, will inspire the council to take the action that is long overdue," Fisher, who oversees the HRW's advocacy work in Human Rights Council and other UN mechanisms in Geneva, also pointed out.

Fisher also noted that the position of the HRW on the issue has not changed and that there should be a full-blown and independent investigation into the drug war.

Before ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda left the international tribunal, she requested for an investigation into the Duterte administration's anti-drug campaign, which killed more than 6,000 drug dealers.

Tribunal judges have up to four months to decide on Bensouda's request.

Urgency for the UN Human Rights Council

For her part, HRW International Justice Program associate director Param-Preet Singh said there is an urgent need for the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to start its own investigation considering that the government's campaign against illegal drugs continued beyond its pullout from the ICC, which took effect in March 2019.

"The ICC has a judicial process that operates independently but the HRC is a political one. It is a potentially huge forum to bolster political support to what the ICC has been doing," Signh pointed out.

"The ICC jurisdiction (in the Philippines) ends in 2019, which only underlines the HRC's, the urgency of HRC to create the investigation to cover the period from 2019 to the present because our research showed all too well that violations had continued," she added.

In a previous statement, Singh had urged the UN HRC to "course-correct and stand up for the Philippine’s victims instead of giving support to the government that kills them." -- BAP, GMA News