The war on drugs and human rights crisis in the Philippines

The Civil and Political Rights Unit held a webinar panel event on ‘The war on drugs and human rights crisis in the Philippines’. Participants were invited to watch the National Geographic documentary, The Nightcrawlers, before the event. The film is available for free on YouTube.  

An unflinching, verité-style exposé, The Nightcrawlers follows a determined group of photojournalists on their mission to chronicle the deadly battle being waged against the Philippines’ drug epidemic by the government of Rodrigo Duterte, President of the Philippines — and the tragic human cost of his crusade.  

Directed by first-time filmmaker Alexander A. Mora, and produced by Academy Award winning producer Joanna Natasegara (White Helmets, Virunga), The Nightcrawlers received a Special Jury Prize at Hamptons International Film Festival, and was nominated for an International Documentary Association Award). The filmmaker gained unprecedented access to a group of determined photojournalists who continue to cover the crisis under increasingly adverse conditions.

The Panel was composed of Raffy Lerma, the main photojournalist and documentary photographer portrayed in the film, and Mariana Ribeiro, the ‘Impact Producer’ for The Nightcrawlers. Professor Dominic McGoldrick, the Head of the Civil and Political Rights Unit moderated the Panel.

Professor McGoldrick opened with an international human rights law perspective on the issue of extra-judicial killings. Among the issue discussed with the panellists were the motivation for being involved in the story, the role of a journalist/photojournalist, the risks involved, the role of an ‘Impact Producer’, the advantages and disadvantages of using film as an advocacy tool, the intended audience for this kind of documentary work, alternative anti-drug policies.