Govt invites UN rights expert to probe killings

The Philippine government has formally invited a United Nations rights rapporteur to investigate the thousands of killings during President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on crime, a presidential spokesman said Wednesday. “The (presidential) palace has sent the invitation to UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard and is awaiting her response,” spokesman Ernesto Abella told reporters. Since July Duterte […]

The Philippine government has formally invited a United Nations rights rapporteur to investigate the thousands of killings during President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on crime, a presidential spokesman said Wednesday. “The (presidential) palace has sent the invitation to UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard and is awaiting her response,” spokesman Ernesto Abella told reporters. Since July Duterte has overseen a brutal crackdown on illegal drugs that has left more than 3,300 people dead, both at the hands of police as well as in unexplained circumstances, according to official data.