The Globe: Rodrigo's Duterte's War On Humanity
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Since coming to power in 2016, Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte has reigned the island nation with an iron-fist, targeting drug dealers and their clientele in an effort to combat the nation’s drug epidemic. Extrajudicial killings are a favorite tactic for the controversial leader of the Philippines, dating back to his time as Mayor of Davao City. Now the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has announced it will be investigating the matter, but it may all be for nothing as Duterte and his government remains defiant of all international condemnation.
President Duterte’s rise to power began nearly twenty-two years ago when he first became Mayor of Davao City back in 1988, and since then gained the reputation as “the Punisher” for his “tough on crime” policy that has resulted in over 1,000 extrajudicial killings carried out by the Mayor’s own personal death squads. Duterte’s actions as Mayor is unsurprising, given his violent behavior throughout his childhood (he shot but didn’t kill a classmate for bullying him during high school). While Davao City became “one of the safest areas in Southeast Asia,” he nonetheless gained the scorn from numerous human rights groups, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (Panarina 2017). Indeed, the killings run foul of several articles in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), most notably are Articles 1 (all humans are equal in dignity and rights), 3 (right to life, liberty, and security of person), 5 (no cruel or inhuman punishment), 9 (no arbitrary arrest, detention or exile), 10 (fair trial), 11 (innocent until proven guilty) and 12 (right to protection of the law).
The use of extrajudicial death squads as a means to carry out law enforcement comes as a result of the Philippines rampant drug use problem. The Filipino Dangerous Drugs Board estimates that there are approximately 1.8 million people in the country “who used drugs within a year,” while the President claims there are anywhere “between 3 million and 4 million…” Of these nearly 2 million people, between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2018, 1.27 million drug users gave themselves up to authorities, and another 149,265 were arrested. The casualties from the deaths quads since Duterte is staggering. Filipino officials state there has only been 5,300 people were killed in the anti-drug campaign, but non-governmental organizations believe that up to 20,000 Filipinos -- most of whom live in destitute -- have fallen victim to these executions.
Members of the international have condemned Duterte’s policy over the years but have achieved little. When the UNHCR voted 18-14 (15 member states abstained) to investigate the extrajudicial killings that was introduced by Iceland, Duterte accused the Icelandic people of being ice-eaters and the country’s Foreign Minister argued that the resolution “came ‘straight from the mouth of the Queen in Alice in Wonderland,’” claiming that extreme measures are necessary to fight the “crushing crime” in the Philippines and that foreign powers were contributing to the problem. The resolution mandates the UN’s High Commissioner of Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, to conduct a year-long investigation on the matter and deliver a report to the UNHCR so the body can decide what to do next.
Ultimately, there is little that any foreign power could do to persuade Duterte to end his merciless war. I have discussed sanctions before, but as in the case of Chechnya and other places where the government is blatantly violating human rights, such actions could only embolden the Filipino president and drive him even to escalate the killings. International law stipulates that any response to human rights must not provoke a response that would put even more lives in jeopardy.
Furthermore, sanctions may drive Duterte into the embrace of China or other authoritarian governments; however, such an action could prove lethal to his political career. The Filipino people were outraged in June after a Chinese Coast Guard boat struck and capsized a fisherman’s boat in Philippine waters which sparked large protests. Protesters called on the government to respond to this flagrant disregard for Philippine sovereignty, but officials were quiet on the issue. As of July, Duterte did call on the United State’s Seventh Fleet to “engage Chinese forces in the South China Sea … if China does not respect international shipping lanes.” Of course, expecting the U.S. to engage in combat with the Chinese military over a few sunken fishing boats is foolish and would completely destabilize the region.
Then there is the International Criminal Court (ICC) which prosecutes individuals who engage in crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, etc. The ICC is reported to be preparing to conduct an investigation of their own to conclude if Duterte and members of government are engaging in crimes against humanity. President Duterte suspended his country’s participation in the ICC so the chances of anyone connected to his War on Drugs being prosecuted in the international body is unlikely unless the country rejoins following his term and hands him over.
The situation is a sad reality of the flaws facing international regimes such as the ICC and the United Nations. In order for them to work, states must set aside their self-interest in hopes that other countries will reciprocate. But this is difficult when states are governed by authoritarian figures who scoff at what they consider to be idealistic nonsense. Then there is the problem of how to enforce international law. Much of the existing treaties, covenants, conventions and other forms of international laws are powerless as they can only require countries who are engaging in possibly illegal actions to answer questions and report on the situation. The UN can impose sanctions, but they have to pass in either the General Assembly or the Security Council in order to take effect. Another possibility is that the UN invokes Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine, claiming that the Philippines is not protecting its citizens, thus giving the international community the responsibility to ensure the Filipino people are treated fairly. This is also unlikely to happen as R2P has only been invoked in defense of the people of Benghazi, Libya, who were on the verge of being killed by former dictator Muammar Gaddafi. In addition, any sort of military action would likely cause even more suffering on the people of the Philippines
Regardless of whether or not the war on drugs have been successful, the policy set forth by Rodrigo Duterte is utterly unconsciousable. Thousands of people who may just be users and not dealers are being exterminated like flies and their families are left with no means of obtaining any form of justice. We will have to wait for High Commissioner Bachelet’s report next year to see what the UNHCR does; but in the meantime, thousands more may perish in Duterte’s Philippines.