“License to Kill”

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) remains greatly
concerned by the reports of extrajudicial killing of suspected drug dealers
and users in the Philippines. I join the United Nations Secretary-General in
condemning the apparent endorsement of extrajudicial killing, which is
illegal and a breach of fundamental rights and freedoms.
Such responses contravene the provisions of the international drug control
conventions, do not serve the cause of justice, and will not help to ensure
that "all people can live in health, dignity and peace, with security and
prosperity," as agreed by governments in the outcome document approved
at the UN General Assembly special session on the world drug problem.
UNODC supports balanced, people-centred, evidence- and rights-based
approaches to drug control, rooted in the agreed international conventions
and standards.
UNODC stands ready to further engage with the Philippines and all
countries to bring drug traffickers to justice with the appropriate legal
safeguards in line with international standards and norms, and promote
prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and reintegration approaches based
in evidence, science, public health and human rights. 360
Later that same month, the UN special rapporteur on the right to health, Dainius Pūras, and
the UN special rapporteur on summary executions, Agnes Callamard, called for the
Philippine government to “to put an end to the current wave of extrajudicial executions and
killings in the context of an intensified anti-crime and anti-drug campaign targeting drug
dealers and users.” 361 Callamard described Duterte’s exhortations for the public to target
360 “Statement by the UNODC Executive Director on the situation in the Philippines,” UNODC press release, August 3, 2016,
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press/releases/2016/August/statement-by-the-unodc-executive-director-on-thesituation-in-the-philippines.html.
361 “UN experts urge the Philippines to stop unlawful killings of people suspected of drug-related offences,” UNHCR press
release, August 18, 2016, http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20388&LangID=E.
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