UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said Duterte’s killings “clearly constitute murder.”
The UN human rights chief urged relevant Philippine authorities to launch a probe into Duterte’s admission.
“Such acts directly contravene the rights enshrined in Article III of the Philippine Constitution. The killings described by President Duterte also violate international law, including the right to life, freedom from violence and force, due process and fair trial, equal protection before the law, and innocence until proven guilty. As a government official, if he encouraged others to follow his example, he may also have committed incitement to violence,” the UN official said.
“The Philippines judicial authorities must demonstrate their commitment to upholding the rule of law and their independence from the executive by launching a murder investigation.”
“Despite police investigating thousands of the deaths perpetrated by vigilantes, there is surprisingly little information on actual prosecutions,” said Zeid.
“Children as young as five years old have been the innocent victims of this appalling epidemic of extra-judicial killings.” [source]
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