122 children killed in PH drug war – NGOs

GENEVA: At least 122 children have been killed in the Philippines’ war on drugs — often deliberately, two nongovernment organizations (NGOs) said on Monday, urging the United Nations to take action.

The NGOs feared that the true figure is higher, they said in a report, as the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) prepares to assess the situation in the Philippines.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s hardline anti- drugs campaign has come under fire from rights activists who say the police are encouraged to use lethal force on drug suspects and thousands have been killed since 2016.

Monday’s report — titled “How could they do this to my child?” — was jointly published by the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) and the Children’s Legal Rights and Development Center

Philippines (CLRDC).

The report documents 122 killings of children, aged one to 17, between July 2016 and December 2019, throughout the country.

“The 122 is only the tip of the iceberg; there may be many more in the country,” OMCT Secretary-General Gerald Staberock told reporters in a virtual briefing. “Imagine if you would have seen these 122 cases on camera. Imagine the outcry.”

The human rights situation in the Philippines is due to be raised at the UNHRC in Geneva, which starts its 44th session on Tuesday.

The council asked Michelle Bachelet, the UN high commissioner for human rights, to prepare a written report and present it at the session, followed by an “enhanced interactive dialogue” on its findings.