‘Duterte lacks understanding of rights’ – Rehab centre drawing a future for drug addicts

This news has been read 6207 times!

MANILA, Sept 14, (Agencies): The United Nations has said Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has a “striking lack of understanding” of its human rights institutions in a rebuke over his crime war that has killed more than 3,000 people. The fresh criticism came from UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein after Duterte called UN head Ban Ki-moon a “fool” and threatened to pull out of the organisation in response to the global body’s condemnation of alleged extrajudicial killings in his anti-drug campaign. The sharp-tongued Duterte has said he does not “give a …” about a wave of international criticism, including from the UN and US President Barack Obama.

“The President of the Philippines’s statements of scorn for international human rights law display a striking lack of understanding of our human rights institutions and the principles which keep societies safe,” Zeid said at a speech in Geneva on Tuesday. Duterte, 71, has launched an unprecedented crime war since taking office on June 30, warning the Philippines is in danger of becoming a “narco-state”.

He was elected in a landslide in May after pledging to kill 100,000 criminals and promising to protect police from prosecution if they are charged over the deaths. Last month, Duterte announced a “shoot-to-kill” order against drug dealers.

“This campaign (of) shoot-tokill will remain until the last day of my term if I’m still alive by then,” he said. Zeid said such an order “undermines justice”. But on Wednesday, Philippine Ambassador to the UN Cecilia Rebong said Duterte never empowered police to shoot to kill anyone.

“What he said was the police have the right to defend themselves when their lives are in danger,” Rebong told the UN Human Rights Council.

Tolerate
Duterte’s spokesman Ernesto Abella added that Duterte did not tolerate extrajudicial killings but that “human rights cannot be used as an excuse to let the spread of drugs in the country run rampant”. Police reported Wednesday killing 1,506 people in anti-drug operations in just over two months since Duterte took office.

Another 1,715 were classified as “deaths under investigation”, referring to people killed in suspicious circumstances including those shot by suspected vigilantes or found dead with crude cardboard signs labelling them as drug traffickers. Zeid urged the Philippines to invite a UN human rights expert to investigate the killings. Philippine foreign affairs spokesman Charles Jose was non-committal, saying UN rights experts already “jumped to conclusions”. Duterte last month lashed out at UN special rapporteur on summary executions Agnes Callamard for saying his directives amounted to an international crime.

A group in Manila are using art therapy to help addicts overcome drug addictions and show Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte that bloody retribution is not the only solution to drugs. The Centre for Christian Recovery, a religious organisation which manages a small private rehabilitation facility west of Manila, has incorporated drawing into its daily sessions as a way for addicts to express their feelings. “These drug dependents are not used to saying what they feel,” said Davis Dakis, the programme director. “They do not know how to express their emotions. So now, through art, they can express whatever they feel.” The art sessions at the centre, which caters for 40 addicts, comes amid a bloody campaign against drugs since Duterte took office in June. More than 2,500 people have been killed in the war on drugs, with about 900 deaths a result of police operations, police say.

Rehabilitation
Owie, a drug user undergoing rehabilitation, said he was afraid of going back on the streets despite his attempts at reformation. “I hope our president will take a different action. I don’t want it to be like this. It’s as if he wants to just kill all of us addicts,” he said. “There is still hope for us, it’s not too late to change.”

This news has been read 6207 times!