Amnesty International on Monday urged the United Nations to investigate potential "crimes against humanity" that occurred in the Philippines during President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody anti-drug crackdown, reports Deutsche Welle.
In its report, "They Just Kill," the London-based rights watchdog urged the UN Human Rights Council to approve a resolution calling for an investigation into the Philippines, where there was now a "perilous normalization" of illegal executions and police abuses.
A vote on the resolution by the 47-member council is expected later this week.
The exact number of deaths in President Duterte's violent war on drugs cannot be verified, but at least 6,000 have died in operations in which police said suspects were armed and had fought back since Duterte launched the campaign when he took office in mid-2016.
Non-government groups claim a much higher death toll, including many suspects killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen human rights groups suspect were financed by police officers.
Amnesty International on Monday urged the United Nations to investigate potential "crimes against humanity" that occurred in the Philippines during President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody anti-drug crackdown.
In its report, "They Just Kill," the London-based rights watchdog urged the UN Human Rights Council to approve a resolution calling for an investigation into the Philippines, where there was now a "perilous normalization" of illegal executions and police abuses.
A vote on the resolution by the 47-member council is expected later this week.
The exact number of deaths in President Duterte's violent war on drugs cannot be verified, but at least 6,000 have died in operations in which police said suspects were armed and had fought back since Duterte launched the campaign when he took office in mid-2016.
Non-government groups claim a much higher death toll, including many suspects killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen human rights groups suspect were financed by police officers.
Poor labelled 'big-time' drug dealers
Amnesty wrote that families of the deceased said the victims had struggled to earn a living but were accused of being "big-time" drug dealers.
Police officers justified the deaths by claiming that suspects fought back during so-called "buy-bust" operations, where undercover agents posed as drug buyers. Amnesty said it doubted the police reports, saying they did not "meet the feeblest standards of credibility."
Amnesty also questioned the legitimacy and accuracy of drug "watch lists," which it said contain the names of drug suspects targeted in police raids.
Amnesty cited accounts from suspects' relatives and witnesses who said some suspects who police claimed fired back were too poor to buy a gun, while others died after police forcibly broke into homes and opened fire then later claimed the suspects fought back after sensing they were being entrapped in police "buy-bust" transactions.
