UN envoy in Philippines rebukes Duterte’s war on drugs

United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial/Summary or Arbitrary Executions Agnes Callamard. (Photo: Foreign and Commonwealth Office/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

MANILA, Philippines—The U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions has rebuked Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly campaign against illegal drugs, saying world leaders have recognized it does not work. Agnes Callamard told a forum in Manila on Friday that badly thought out policies not only fail to address drug abuse and trafficking but compound them and foster a regime of impunity infecting the whole society.

Callamard is an early critic of the Philippine president and has been challenged by Duterte to debate his war on drugs that has left thousands of suspected drug dealers and users dead.

She says U.N. member countries in a joint commitment issued last year have called for a multi-faceted and scientific approach that promotes the dignity and human rights of individuals and communities.