It is announced that Duterte of the Philippines has restarted a campaign of extrajudicial killings of those suspected of involvement in drugs
Most relevant to Duterte's policy of judicial executions is the following extract from the declaration on the 20th anniversary of the Asian Human Rights Charter by the Asian Human Rights Commission.
See especially:
"Extrajudicial
executions and enforced disappearances are constantly carried out in
many countries in Asia. Such extrajudicial executions and enforced
disappearances are grave crimes and cannot be allowed for any reason.
In any state in which extrajudicial executions and enforced
disappearances take place, the state must accept liability for such
crimes and ensure immediate action be taken to investigate. On the
basis of such investigations conducted by credible agencies, the
culprits should be prosecuted immediately. In deciding on culprits,
the issue of command responsibility should be pursued strictly. Every
officer who bears direct or indirect responsibility for such grave
crimes should be brought before the courts as soon as possible.
The
absence of specific domestic laws relating to extrajudicial
executions and enforced disappearances should not be used as an
excuse to stop the investigation and prosecution of such crimes.
Where no proper laws exist, the laws must be made and enforced with
retrospective effect. Where such laws do not exist, they should be
treated as though they do, on the basis that such acts are crimes
against humanity. Where extrajudicial executions and enforced
disappearances occur on a large scale, the state should bear the full
liability for such crimes. These crimes likewise amount to crimes
against humanity."
A Paper by the Asian Human
Rights Commission
WORLD: Draft Asian Declaration
on right to justice - right to an effective remedy for violations of
human rights in terms of Article 2 of the ICCPR: March 5, 2018
