(Eagle News) — The European Union on Friday urged the Philippines to allow an impartial probe into the Philippine government’s war on drugs.
In a statement before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, the EU said it was “imperative” to conduct the “prompt, effective…and transparent investigations of all cases of death leading to prosecution in all cases of unlawful killing.”
“The EU remains deeply concerned about the high number of killings associated with the campaign against illegal drugs in the Philippines,” the bloc said.
It noted the importance of “carrying out the campaign with a focus on public health and in full compliance with due process, national law and international human rights law.”
The EU made the statement on the same day the Philippines notified the International Criminal Court of its decision to withdraw from the tribunal.
In announcing the move to withdraw, President Rodrigo Duterte cited “baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks on my person as against my administration, engineered by the officials of the (UN), as well as the attempt by the (ICC) special prosecutor to place my person within the jurisdiction of the (ICC)” as reasons.