poledriver
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2005
- Messages
- 11,543
Duterte's war on drugs could put Philippines youths in harm's way, critics say
High school students in the Philippines will be subject to random drug tests starting in September, raising safety concerns as President Rodrigo Duterte intensifies his war on drugs.
Drug tests will be randomly administered at secondary schools, both private and public, with the aim of preventing drug use and rehabilitating those already consuming them, Department of Education guidelines say.
"Random drug testing for students is considered by the government as entirely a 'health' issue and aims to provide appropriate interventions to those who will be tested positive for dangerous drug use, which will help the student stop further use and/or abuse of the substance," a government statement said.
Any student testing positive for drug use will be sent for counseling and intervention by social workers, the guidelines state.
The move to test younger school students follows a previous government order for mandatory drug testing among students at universities and colleges.
But the plans have drawn sharp criticism from multiple human rights groups, which claim the government cannot be trusted to ensure that students who test positive for drug use won’t become targets in Duterte's war on drugs, which has led to some 12,500 killings since the president took office in June 2016.
Human Rights Watch Asia Director Phelim Kine slammed the policy, saying the government is putting the students in “harm’s way.”
“Imposing mandatory drug testing of students when Philippine police are committing rampant summary killings of alleged drug users puts countless children in danger for failing a drug test,” he said.
Cont -
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/0...lippines-youths-in-harms-way-critics-say.html
High school students in the Philippines will be subject to random drug tests starting in September, raising safety concerns as President Rodrigo Duterte intensifies his war on drugs.
Drug tests will be randomly administered at secondary schools, both private and public, with the aim of preventing drug use and rehabilitating those already consuming them, Department of Education guidelines say.
"Random drug testing for students is considered by the government as entirely a 'health' issue and aims to provide appropriate interventions to those who will be tested positive for dangerous drug use, which will help the student stop further use and/or abuse of the substance," a government statement said.
Any student testing positive for drug use will be sent for counseling and intervention by social workers, the guidelines state.
The move to test younger school students follows a previous government order for mandatory drug testing among students at universities and colleges.
But the plans have drawn sharp criticism from multiple human rights groups, which claim the government cannot be trusted to ensure that students who test positive for drug use won’t become targets in Duterte's war on drugs, which has led to some 12,500 killings since the president took office in June 2016.
Human Rights Watch Asia Director Phelim Kine slammed the policy, saying the government is putting the students in “harm’s way.”
“Imposing mandatory drug testing of students when Philippine police are committing rampant summary killings of alleged drug users puts countless children in danger for failing a drug test,” he said.
Cont -
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/0...lippines-youths-in-harms-way-critics-say.html
