The Philippines: ICC investigation into drug killings a crucial moment for justice

Responding to news that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will open a preliminary examination into the “war on drugs” in the Philippines, James Gomez, Amnesty International’s Director of Southeast Asia and the Pacific said: “This announcement marks a crucial moment for justice and accountability in the Philippines and offers a glimmer of …

Philippines: Police reinstatement in ‘drug war’ threatens catastrophic return to mass killing

Responding to the news that President Duterte has ordered the police to resume their role in supporting his administration’s so-called “war on drugs,” James Gomez, Amnesty International’s Director of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said: “In returning police to his anti-drug operations yet again, President Duterte has consigned the poorest and most marginalised people in …

Philippines: Deadly consequences for children in ‘war on drugs’

A hearing in the Philippines Senate has exposed the abysmal failings of the police to protect children from the deadly consequences of the “war on drugs”, Amnesty International said. The Senate hearing convened on 24 August to address last week’s police killing of the 17-year-old student Kian Loyd Delos Santos, a case which has triggered …

Philippines: 32 killed in a day as Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ hits new levels of barbarity

After Philippine police killed 32 people in what is believed to be the highest death toll in a single day in President Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called “war on drugs”, Amnesty International’s Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, James Gomez, said: “These shocking deaths are a reminder that President Duterte’s lawless ‘war on drugs’ continues unabated …

Indonesia: At least 60 killed as police shootings of drug suspects skyrocket

The number of police killings of suspected drug dealers has skyrocketed in Indonesia this year, an alarming rise which signals that authorities could be looking to emulate the murderous “war on drugs” in neighbouring Philippines, Amnesty International said. At least 60 suspected drug dealers have been killed by police – some of whom have been …