Submission to the United Nations Human Rights Committee ahead of the fifth periodic review of the Philippines

Harm Reduction International (HRI), the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), the International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD), NoBox Philippines, and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty welcome the opportunity to submit information to the Human Rights Committee ahead of the adoption of the List of Issues for the review of the Philippines.

This submission will assess the impact of the Philippines’ drug policy on the enjoyment of civil and political rights, with a focus on developments since the intensification of the anti-drug campaign in July 2016; and provide suggestions for issues to be raised with the government of the Philippines. In particular, this submission will provide information on:

1. Arbitrary deprivation of life in the context of anti-drug operations (Article 6);
2. Failure to protect the life of people who use drugs (Articles 6 and 26);
3. Attempts at reinstating the death penalty, specifically for drug offences (Article 6);
4. Torture and ill-treatment in detention (Articles 7 and 10);
5. Compulsory drug detention and treatment (Articles 7 and 9);
6. Proportionality of the criminal justice response to drugs and prohibition of arbitrary arrest and detention (Articles 9 and 14);
7. Arbitrary interference with the right to privacy (Article 17);
8. Shrinking civil society space: targeting of human rights defenders and drug user activists (Articles 19 and 21).