Agnes Callamard, UN expert on extrajudicial killings, denounced the “war on drugs” approach backed by Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. Delegates at the UN General Assembly last year decried drug-related corruption and called for a multifaceted approach with an emphasis on health and justice in the campaign against drugs.
There have been 4,000 drug-related deaths since Duterte started cracking down on drug users nearly a year ago and rights groups claim that the police are responsible for a significant number of them. Despite denying any responsibility, Duterte has been publicly implicated by a police officer and hit man whose lawyer has called for Duterte to be tried in the International Criminal Court for mass murder.