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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider UNHR calls to protect drug war victims' families as Duterte faces ICC trial

UNHR calls to protect drug war victims' families as Duterte faces ICC trial

Published Mar 12, 2025 03:35 am

In the wake of the impending trial of former president Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC), United Nations Human Rights (UNHR) spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani urged for the continued protection of the families of the victims of Duterte’s so-called drug war.

drug war victims_families.jpeg
The sister of Jefferson Bunuan carrying his photo as they prepare to take his body to Manila South Cemetery on Aug. 1, 2016. (Carlo Gabuco/Human Rights Watch)

In the transcript of a UNHR video posted on its Vimeo channel, Shamdasani stated that her office is aware of Duterte’s arrest on Tuesday, March 12, on a warrant issued by the ICC and applauded the courage of the drug war victims’ families.

“As this important process moves forward, the families of those affected have shown great courage in pursuing justice over many years, and it is crucial that they are protected as this process moves forward,” the official said.

“We do stress the importance of protecting victims and witnesses and preventing reprisals and retributions of any kind,” she added.

Shamdasani also stressed the importance of making sure that “the next steps” regarding Duterte’s case will be undertaken in full accordance with the law, including the applicable international human rights obligations of the Philippines.

She said that the UNHR has documented the “severe human rights impact of the so-called war on drugs” in the Philippines.

“In a report that we had put out in 2020, we found credible allegations of widespread and systematic extrajudicial killings in the context of this campaign, as well as arbitrary detention, and the near total impunity for such violations.”

And while they welcome the “positive changes” of the current administration’s drug policy, the UNHR cited the lack of accountability in the drug war cases.

“On accountability, however, what we have seen is that, despite steps to review past cases, we understand that only four cases have so far resulted in convictions. It is of course crucial to address such impunity,” she stressed.

Duterte was arrested by the Philippine National Police (PNP) upon a request from the Interpol based on a warrant issued by the ICC on charges of crimes against humanity.

The former president was flown to The Hague, Netherlands via a chartered plane on Tuesday night. He is expected to stand trial before the ICC.

His bloody war on drugs campaign killed thousands of mostly impoverished Filipinos. Various human rights groups said the total number of deaths can be as high as 20,000 to 30,000.

Related Tags

International Criminal Court drug war Rodrigo Duterte
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