With the so-called ‘war on drugs’ raging in the Philippines, Vice President of the Philippines, Leni Robredo (Liberal Party of the Philippines – LI full member), has hit out at the extrajudicial killings sanctioned by President Rodrigo Duterte in a video message co-sponsored by Liberal International to the 60th UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (UNCND).
Concerned that over 7,000 people have been killed in summary executions since July 2016, Vice-President Robredo said:
We are heartened to know the issues of extra-judicial killings in the Philippines today are being discussed in an event such as this; to know that the international community’s eyes are on us and to feel that human rights advocates are watching over our country gives us comfort courage and hope
Taking place in Vienna this week, UNCND is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and international crime.
Drug abuse is “a complex health issue linked intimately with inequality and poverty” that “cannot be solved by bullets alone”, added the Liberal leader, before describing her concern that Filipinos are no longer sure that they can rely on the police for protection. “when people know their rights under the constitution they will be better protected… we must all demand greater transparency on the government’s war on drugs”.
Watch Vice President Robredo’s contribution here:
Other panellists include Abhisit Vejjajiva, former Prime Minister of Thailand and Chairman of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD, LI cooperating organisation); Chito Gascon, Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights of the Republic of the Philippines; Alison Smith of the Brussels-based NGO and event co-sponsor No Peace Without Justice; and Lousewies van der Laan, former leader of the D66 (LI full-member) Caucus in the European Parliament.
An article, written by Time Magazine, about the Vice-President’s intervention can be found here.
