PHILIPPINES
A Heavy Toll
The UN Human Rights Council has voted to probe alleged crimes committed during the Philippine government’s war on drugs – which has resulted in the killing of at least 6,600 dealers and others since President Rodrigo Duterte launched the program in 2016.
The resolution mandates a comprehensive report on the human rights situation in the Philippines that will focus on reports of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances associated with the drug war, the BBC reported.
Out of the 47 countries in the council, 18 voted for the resolution, 14 opposed it and 15 abstained.
The Philippines called it a “travesty.”
While Philippines’ police say the crackdown has resulted in 6,600 deaths, human rights activists peg the total far higher, at more than 27,000 people – among them a three-year-old girl shot dead during a raid last week.
Despite its heavy toll, the drug war and Duterte remain popular among Filipinos, the BBC noted, with the president enjoying a 79 percent approval rating, according to a poll conducted earlier this year.
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