The UN has accused the Philippines of “the widespread and systematic killing of thousands of alleged drug suspects” during Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-narcotics crackdown, marking the international community’s sharpest condemnation of human rights abuses since he took power in 2016.
A report by the organisation’s UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the Philippine president’s so-called “war on drugs” had killed at least 8,000 people, including at least 248 human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists.
The report said the Philippine government’s “focus on national security threats — real and inflated — has led to serious human rights violations, reinforced by harmful rhetoric from high-level officials”.