Thread by @rapplerdotcom

BREAKING: The @UNHumanRights releases its comprehensive report on the Philippines' situation, particularly on the thousands of killings under President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. | via @jodeszgavilan

Story to follow on rappler.com/nation

@UNHumanRights @jodeszgavilan The report was made following a resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in July 2019, which asked UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet to write and present the report to the UNHRC 44th Session this June. | via @jodeszgavilan

@UNHumanRights @jodeszgavilan According to the report, the Duterte government's "heavy-handed focus" vs nat'l security threats, illegal drugs led to "serious human rights violations" in the PH. | via @jodeszgavilan

@jodeszgavilan The grave human rights violations were "reinforced by harmful rhetoric from high-level officials," the report stated. | via @jodeszgavilan

@jodeszgavilan Duterte's violent war on drugs has led to at least 6,000 suspected drug personalities killed in police operations, while human rights groups pegged the number to reach more than 20,000 to include those killed vigilante-style. | via @jodeszgavilan

@jodeszgavilan The Duterte government allowed the thousands of drug war killings to go unsolved, prosecuting only a few. DOJ passes the buck to police who it said must file complaints, but PNP cites presumption of regularity in police ops killings. | via @lianbuan rappler.com/newsbreak/in-d…

@jodeszgavilan @lianbuan In the pending Supreme Court petition on legality of the drug war, the government through SolGen Jose Calida fought hard not to turn over the drug war documents, meaning police reports. When it did, petitioner said docs were "rubbish." | @lianbuan

rappler.com/nation/240840-…

@jodeszgavilan @lianbuan The Free Legal Assistance Group, a co-petitioner, noticed a cut and paste template in the police reports, where several drug suspects were reported to have uttered the same phrase: "Putang ina pulis ka pala (son of a bitch you're a cop." | via @lianbuan

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@jodeszgavilan @lianbuan In a preliminary resolution, the Supreme Court said the government must first prove that the police reports exist because they are requirements of a legal operation. SC said the high number of killings may mean they are state-sponsored. | via @lianbuan

rappler.com/nation/200042-…

@jodeszgavilan @lianbuan There was also a notable rise in the killing of lawyers in the country under the Duterte administration. An international group of probers concluded that there have been no genuine investigations into these killings. | via @lianbuan

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@jodeszgavilan @lianbuan Human rights lawyers used lawyer killings as a pressure point for Duterte in the United Nations Human Rights Council. | via @lianbuan

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@jodeszgavilan @lianbuan ICC will announce this 2020 whether the prosecutor will open an investigation into PH killings. Investigation means prosecutor found PH was unable or unwilling to probe on its own. In this stage, judges can issue summons and arrest orders. | via @lianbuan rappler.com/nation/246547-…

FULL STORY: rappler.com/newsbreak/84-d…

Duterte's "overarching focus" on countering "real and inflated" national security threats has resulted in grave human rights violations, the report found.

READ: rappler.com/nation/262855-…

@jodeszgavilan @lianbuan The Ateneo Human Rights Center also outlined how the Duterte govt tried to fix the legal loopholes of its drug war along the way, but not before more than 6 million houses were subjected to Oplan Tokhang and tens of thousands were left dead. | @lianbuan

rappler.com/newsbreak/in-d…