UN Experts Seek Inquiry Into 'Unlawful' Killings in Philippines

FILE - Students from the University of the Philippines place messages around the figure "74" during a candle-lit protest in remembrance of the alleged 74 minors killed in Duterte's so-called war on drugs, March 27, 2019, Manila.

United Nations human rights experts called on Friday for an international investigation into a "staggering number of unlawful deaths and police killings in the context of the so-called war on drugs" in the Philippines.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has publicly intimidated activists and Supreme Court judges, degraded women and "incited violence against alleged drug pushers and others," 11 independent experts said in a joint statement calling on the U.N. Human Rights Council to launch an independent inquiry.