Amnesty International Australia today called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to support a resolution before the United Nations (UN) to investigate and report on the campaign of extrajudicial killings in President Duterte’s “war on drugs”.
We’re seriously concerned Australia is going to miss an opportunity to save people’s lives
“We’re seriously concerned Australia is going to miss an opportunity to save people’s lives if it does not support Iceland’s resolution for the UNHCR to investigate this campaign of extrajudicial killings and hold the Duterte regime to account,” Amnesty International Australia Campaigner Tim O’Connor said. “That direction has to come from the Prime Minister.”
“The Philippines government has admitted to more than 6000 people being brutally killed in its so-called war on drugs, but our independent research indicates that this number is much higher.
“The reality is that if your name appears on a ‘drugs watch list’, you’re as good as dead whether or not you have actually been involved taking or selling drugs.
“The Australia Government must use its position on the UN Human Rights Council to hold this murderous regime to account” O’Connor said.
“These killings follow a pattern that has now become routine, and are carried out in the near-total absence of accountability in a climate of continued incitement from the president and other high-level officials.
“Trading relationships should not stand in the way of standing up for basic human rights.”
