Human rights groups: Drug war should not be at the expense of human lives
Following the statement of President Rodrigo Duterte on human rights advocates and human lives in his third State of the Nation Address (Sona), human rights groups said his drug war campaign should not be at the expense of human lives.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said Duterte has failed to recognize that protection and promotion of human lives is a “fight for the preservation of a dignified human life for all.”
“We are supportive of all the rights he has urged Congress to advance while we remain steadfast that the campaign against drugs should not be at the expense of human lives,” the CHR said in a statement.
The commission expressed its disappointment on the President’s statement that the drug war campaign would “relentless and chilling.”
READ: Duterte: Drug war to remain ‘relentless and chilling’
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said “respect for human rights and respect for human lives are not mutually exclusive.”
“On the contrary, one reinforces the other,” it said.
“Smearing the intentions of those seeking to defend [the] rule of law only underscores Duterte’s craven, single-minded obsession to continue the killing campaign regardless of the costs,” the international human rights group said.
On Monday, Duterte slammed human rights advocates who condemn his narcotics crackdown in his third Sona.
“If you think that I can be dissuaded from continuing this fight because of [your] demonstrations, your protests, which I find, by the way, misdirected, then you got it all wrong,” he said.
“Your concern is human rights, mine is human lives. The lives of our youth are being wasted and families are destroyed, and all because of the chemicals called shabu, cocaine, cannabis, and heroine,” Duterte added. /ee
