REPORT ON INVESTIGATED KILLINGS IN RELATION TO THE ANTI-ILLEGAL DRUG CAMPAIGN 6. CHALLENGES IN DOMESTIC ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES The Philippine government’s failure to prevent brazen and brutal killings of drug suspects — and its officials’ proclivity to sanction and encourage such actions— contravenes its obligation to uphold the right to life of all persons. Such transgression is amplified by the government’s inadequate discharge of its duty to investigate potentially unlawful deaths, which the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016) described as “an essential part of upholding the right to life.” 80 States must ensure that investigations are “(i) prompt; (ii) effective and thorough; (iii) independent and impartial; and (iv) transparent.”81 However, the Philippine government’s investigations of drug-related extrajudicial killings have been deficient, fruitless, and obfuscated. Investigations rarely resulted in the punishment of all perpetrators, highlighting the deeply-rooted culture of impunity in the Philippines. Independent and impartial accountability mechanisms – such as the fact-finding investigations by the CHR – have been hampered by the predilection and uncooperativeness of agencies involved in the campaign against illegal drugs. The inaccessibility of police records suggests lack of openness to scrutiny and public accountability, which is necessary to ensure effective and transparent investigations. The climate of fear, engrained by the impunity surrounding these killings, has compelled the victims’ families and the witnesses to silence. Dangers of reprisal as well as unavailability of evidence have blocked the exercise of their right to full and effective remedy. 6.1. Policy of refusal to access police documents Graph 9. Number of investigated drug-related incidents with documented denial of access to police documents 80 Minnesota Protocol (2016),Section II, Part A, par. 8(c). 81 Minnesota Protocol (2016), Section II, Part D, par. 1. 27