PHILIPPINES: Human Rights Council passes disappointing resolution

Civil society had hopes that the resolution on the Philippines passed by the UN Human Rights Council in October would help hold the Philippines to account for its egregious human rights abuses committed in the context of President Rodrigo Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’. But instead of establishing an international investigation into the human rights situation in the Philippines, the resolution prioritised ‘technical assistance and capacity-building’ to help the government of the Philippines meet its human rights commitments.