Extrajudicial killing (state killing)

Extrajudicial killing, or state killing, is the purposeful killing of someone by the government, or with the government’s approval, when the killing has not been sanctioned by a court or official government process. Extrajudicial killings have happened throughout history, but international condemnation of these killings became more prominent after World War II when organizations such as the United Nations (UN) formed. Extrajudicial killings can take place when a government leader gives direct orders, or they can involve police organizations, the military, or death squads using indirect orders or acquiescence to carry out the killings. Usually, extrajudicial killings have a political element. Political dissidents, members of opposing political parties, or members of other ethnic groups are often targets of these killings. International organizations such as the UN, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch try to track extrajudicial killings, though the actual statistics are difficult to compile since many of these killings are done secretly.

Background

Governments around the world have killed their own citizens since governments first formed. However, as laws and international governing bodies have developed over time, governments have created stricter rules about how and why they put their own citizens to death, and even nations that still allow the death penalty usually have restrictions, legal processes, and other measures in place. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was created in 1948 after World War II by the newly formed UN, stated, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.” The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which was adopted by the UN in 1966, stated, “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.” These statements helped cement international consensus about extrajudicial killings and similar killings.

Overview

Extrajudicial killings have happened throughout history, but they have not always been called extrajudicial killings. For example, organizations such as Amnesty International, which tracks extrajudicial killings that happened around the world, has used terms such as summary executions to describe such killings as well. Some people also use the term extrajudicial execution. Furthermore, the term can have varying definitions. Although the definition of the term extrajudicial killings is not totally agreed upon, experts on government violence believe that creating a single agreed-upon definition is very important.

Extrajudicial killings have been a problem in many parts of the world and throughout most of history. In modern history, extrajudicial killings have happened in many different countries. These types of killings often take place when political turmoil or conflict occurs, but they also occur often in countries with authoritarian governments. Generally, minority groups or groups that threaten the political party in power are targeted by these killings. Often, these killings are undertaken by police organizations or members of the military. Often these murders are covered up and the victims are blamed for illegal activity.

Most people think of extrajudicial killings as a phenomenon that occurs in countries with authoritarian governments, but they can also happen in other parts of the world. For example, more than 4,000 Americans (mostly African Americans) were lynched in the United States between 1882 and 1968, and many of those lynchings had tacit approval or even help from local and state police departments. Any of these killings that involved the police were extrajudicial killings.

Other examples of extrajudicial killings have happened in countless other countries. One of the most infamous examples of coordinated, ongoing extrajudicial killings in the early twenty-first century has been in the Philippines. The former president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has become infamous for his authoritarian rule over the country. Duterte acted as the mayor of the Davao before becoming president, and he was accused of creating a death squad in the city to carry out the extrajudicial killings of drug dealers and others. Duterte continued to order the murder of drug dealers and even drug users throughout the country. International organizations are unsure how many citizens have been murdered by extrajudicial killings, but some have estimated that at least 4,000 people have been murdered in this way. At the beginning of his presidency, Duterte denied that the extrajudicial killings undertaken by police were sanctioned by the federal government. However, in 2018, he admitted that he had approved the killings. Although Duterte later characterized his words as a joke, many people around the world accepted them as an admission. Despite the turmoil around the killings, Duterte faced no repercussions for his actions.

A high-profile example of an extrajudicial killing from the 2010s was the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was a citizen of Saudi Arabia who had moved to the United States, where he wrote for the Washington Post. His work was often critical of the Saudi government and ran into issues due to the country's strict censorship. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was unhappy with Khashoggi’s coverage of the Saudi government. Experts believe that Bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s murder, though the prince denies the claim. It is clear, however, that a team of Saudis intercepted Khashoggi in Turkey and murdered him.

War and political unrest in an area can lead to an increase in extrajudicial killings as parties struggle for power. In war torn South Sudan extrajudicial killings have been on the rise. The United Nations has expressed extreme concern over the increase in executions in South Sudan, where many people face firing squads with no trial. Between January 2023 and June 2024 seventy-six people, including two children, were executed by firing squad. Thirty-nine of them were executed in the first six months of 2024, demonstrating the rise in victims.

International organizations such as Amnesty International have published a great deal of information about extrajudicial killings around the world. Many of these organizations have also given recommendations about ways to reduce instances of extrajudicial killings. One way to prevent or curb extrajudicial killings is merely to acknowledge their existence and condemn governments for taking part in, or not taking action against, them. A second way to reduce these killings is to demand restraint in the use of force among the military and police organizations by instilling chain-of-command control in those organizations so that people in the lower levels of the organizations do not take it upon themselves to conduct extrajudicial killings. Governments must not use secret detention, as that can increase extrajudicial killings. Investigating and prosecuting extrajudicial killings is still another way to reduce the number of these killings. Amnesty International also suggests that governments compensate victims’ families after extrajudicial killings. Lastly, international organizations and nations around the world have to take extrajudicial killings seriously, and these countries should not return citizens to countries where they are likely to be killed and should put pressure on governments who are accused of extrajudicial killings.

Bibliography

“14-Point Program for the Prevention of Extrajudicial Executions.” Amnesty International, 1992, www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/192000/pol350021993en.pdf. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.

“2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: South Sudan.” U.S. Department of State, www.state.gov/reports/2023-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/south-sudan/. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.

Aceves, William J. “When Death Becomes Murder: A Primer on Extrajudicial Killing.” Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 2018, hrlr.law.columbia.edu/files/2019/01/HRLR-50.1-Aceves-A-Primer-on-Extrajudicial-Killing.pdf. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.

Challenges in International Human Rights Law, edited by Menno T. Kamminga. Routledge, 2017.

Daley, Beth. “Rodrigo Duterte’s First Year: A Human Rights Disaster the World Prefers to Ignore.” The Conversation, 10 July 2017, theconversation.com/rodrigo-dutertes-first-year-a-human-rights-disaster-the-world-prefers-to-ignore-80442. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.

“Fact Sheet No.11 (Rev.1), Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions.” United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FactSheet11rev.1en.pdf. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.

“Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror.” Equal Justice Initiative, 2017, lynchinginamerica.eji.org/report/. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.

“Pakistan: Extrajudicial Executions by Army in Swat.” Human Rights Watch, 16 July 2010, www.hrw.org/news/2010/07/16/pakistan-extrajudicial-executions-army-swat. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.

Patag, Kristine Joy. “Why Defining 'Extrajudicial Killings' in Law Is A Vital Step Toward Accountability.” Philippine Star, 18 July 2019, www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/07/18/1935776/why-defining-extrajudicial-killings-law-vital-step-toward-accountability. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.

“South Sudan: Rise in Extrajudicial Executions.” United Nations, 31 July 2024, www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2024/07/south-sudan-rise-extrajudicial-executions. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.