Tens of thousands of people in the Philippines may have been killed in the war on drugs since mid-2016, amid "near impunity" for police and incitement to violence by top officials.
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A United Nations report published on Thursday says the drugs crackdown launched by President Rodrigo Duterte has been marked by high-level rhetoric that may have been interpreted as "permission to kill."
"Despite credible allegations of widespread and systematic extrajudicial killings in the context of the campaign against illegal drugs, there has been near impunity for such violations," the UN human rights office said in a report.
There has been only one conviction, for the 2017 murder of Kian delos Santos, a 17-year-old Manila student, it said.
Three police officers were convicted after CCTV footage led to public outrage, it said.
Police say their actions in the anti-drug campaign have been lawful and that deaths occur in shootouts with dealers resisting arrest.
The UN report said some statements from the highest levels of government had "risen to the level of incitement to violence" and "vilification of dissent is being increasingly institutionalised."
"The Government has also increasingly filed criminal charges, including by using COVID-19 special powers laws, against social media users posting content critical of Government policies and actions," the report added.
Australian Associated Press