Human Rights

Investigatory panels looking into 2,500 drug war killings in Thailand in the spring of 2003 have determined that more than half of those killed had nothing to do with drugs. Meanwhile, at least one Thai politician wants to return to the tough drug policies that led to those mass killings.

Four and a half years ago, then Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra vowed to wipe out drug use in Thailand. Within three months, 2,500 people were dead. Now, a new government is about to release a series of reports on the killings.

Iran continues to execute drug offenders. Two more were hanged October 30.

Southeast Asian countries' tough line on drug users is exacerbating the HIV/AIDS crisis in the region, experts in Bangkok said last weekend.

Whatever direction the drug war compass points, one way or its opposite, it never points anywhere good.

Citing cases of human rights violations by soldiers prosecuting Mexico's drug war, the country's top human rights official has called for an end to the military's role.

In 2003, then Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra vowed to eliminate drugs in his country. He didn't, but his police managed to eliminate 2,500 drug "suspects" by gunning them down without trial. Now that Thaksin has been overthrown, investigations into the mass killings are getting underway.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Tuesday released its annual world drug report and marked the International Day Against Drugs and Illicit Trafficking. Both actions are drawing criticism.

Shortly after taking office late last year, Mexican President Felipe Calderón called on the army to take on the drug traffickers. Six months in, the death toll is mounting on all sides, but the drugs just keep coming.

The Southeast Asian version of the drug war keeps producing more death sentences, with nine handed out Tuesday in Indonesia and seven more the same day in Vietnam.