UN council to assess PH’s implementation of rights

THE UNITED Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will review this week the Philippines’ implementation of economic, social and cultural rights, and discuss extrajudicial killings in President Duterte’s brutal war on drugs.

The Philippines is among 164 states that ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

As a state party, the Philippines is required to undergo regular review by the UN committee on economic, social and cultural rights.

The Philippine government has submitted its report on measures to implement the covenant and will be reviewed by the committee, composed of 18 independent human rights experts, on Sept. 28 and 29.

Right to health, including the rehabilitation of drug addicts, is under Article 12 of the covenant, said Liz Throssell, press attaché of UNHRC.

“Extrajudicial killings (of drug suspects) won’t be raised per se. But the committee does frequently ask countries about their approach, including harm reduction, to tackling illegal drug abuse, drug users, in the context of Article 12 of the covenant right to health,”  Throssell said in an e-mail to the Inquirer.

Interesting discussion

“So there may be an interesting discussion with this angle (extrajudicial killings of drug suspects) during the session,” she added.

More than 3,000 drug suspects have been killed by police and unknown assailants since President Duterte launched a take-no-prisoners war on drugs upon assuming office on June 30.

UN rights experts have expressed concern about the killings and urged the Philippines to allow an independent investigation into the incidents.