Geneva June 5 (UNI) The UN human rights office called on the Philippine government in a new report on Thursday and expressed its concern about the Human rights violation in the country.
The UN office pointed out that the situation has worsened in the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte, who has received worldwide condemnation for a deadly crackdown on drug offenders and users.
“A heavy-handed focus on countering national security threats and illegal drugs has resulted in serious human rights violations in the Philippines, including killings and arbitrary detentions, as well as the vilification of dissent,” the report said.
The report highlights 'Duterte's "harmful rhetoric" and "incendiary" language combined with his government's "heavy-handed focus" on fighting illegal drugs and threats from insurgents has led to numerous'.
"Despite credible allegations of widespread and systematic extrajudicial killings in the context of the campaign against illegal drugs, there has been near impunity for such violations," the report further said.
Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that the "deep-seated impunity" revealed in the report means that victims and their families have been deprived justice.
"People who use or sell drugs do not lose their human rights,' she said.
Duterte's government's spokesman Harry Roque saying on Thursday that the UN report was baseless and that the government has no such policy to kill the drug suspect.
UNI XC PR 0850