“License to Kill”

• Institute measures for witnesses to offer testimonies safely but in accord with due
process, for example by allowing testimony to be provided by live video or in
courtrooms closed to the public;
• Adopt mechanisms to facilitate the safe filing of complaints by victims and family
members of human rights abuses by law enforcement officers and other
government officials;
• To the extent permitted by law and by limits on the appropriate exercise of
discretion, prosecutors should decline to prosecute drug possession cases, or at a
minimum should seek the least serious charge supported by the facts or by law;
• To the extent permitted by law and by limits on the appropriate exercise of
discretion, judges should sentence drug possession defendants to nonincarceration
sentences. Judges should release drug possession defendants on
their own recognizance whenever appropriate; if bail is required, it should be set at
a level tailored to the economic circumstances of individual defendants.
To the Commission on Human Rights
• Investigate and report on alleged extrajudicial killings and other human rights
violations during the anti-drug campaign, including against family members and
witnesses to violence;
• Investigate and report on threats and violence against human rights defenders,
journalists, politicians, and others who speak out against the anti-drug campaign;
• Conduct public awareness campaigns to assist ordinary civilians who are victims of
human rights violations or wish to report on alleged government abuses.
Disseminate information on topics such as the right of family members to have the
state pay for autopsies in alleged murder cases and to be informed of the status of
relevant investigations.
To the Office of the Ombudsman
• Investigate law enforcement officers and other government officials suspected of
involvement in extrajudicial killings, including anti-drug operations and so-called
vigilante killings, and seek reprimands or prosecutions as appropriate.
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