Philippines will remain UN member despite Duterte’s threats to leave
Philippine authorities on August 22 clarified that the country will not leave the United Nations (UN) despite a threat made by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte as a reaction to UN officials criticising his violent war on drugs.
“We certainly are not leaving the UN,” Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr said in a news conference, adding that the Philippines remains “committed” to the UN despite its “frustrations” with UN rapporteurs who want to investigate recent extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.
Yasay said: “The president is understandably extremely disappointed and frustrated with this action of the special rapporteurs in arbitrarily concluding that these drug-related killings were done by or are at the instance of law enforcers. But I can assure you that he remains committed to the United Nations, of which the Philippines is one of the founding members.”
He said the UN experts reacted only based on media reports.
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella also clarified that the country will not be leaving the UN.
“President Duterte was just basically stating the fact that the Philippines is a sovereign nation and should not be meddled with,” he said.
This comes after Duterte on August 21 threatened to withdraw the Philippines from the UN, as he launched another profanity-laced tirade against the organisation for criticising his bloody war on drugs.
“Maybe we’ll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations. If you are that disrespectful, son of a whore, then I will just leave you,” Duterte said.
Duterte even suggested to set up a rival international organisation.
“I would invite everybody. I would invite maybe China, the African (nations),” he said.
The UN’s special rapporteur on summary executions, Agnes Callamard, last week said Duterte’s promise of immunity and bounties to security forces who killed drug suspects violated international law.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in June also strongly criticised Duterte, who during the election campaign promised to kill 100,000 people and dump so many bodies in Manila Bay that the fish would grow fat from feeding on them.
More than 1,500 people have been killed since Duterte took office and immediately began his law-and-order crackdown, according to police statistics, triggering fierce criticism from the UN and rights groups.
Philippine authorities on August 22 clarified that the country will not leave the United Nations (UN) despite a threat made by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte as a reaction to UN officials criticising his violent war on drugs. "We certainly are not leaving the UN," Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr said in a news conference, adding that the Philippines remains "committed" to the UN despite its "frustrations" with UN rapporteurs who want to investigate recent extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. Yasay said: "The president is understandably extremely disappointed and frustrated with this action of the special rapporteurs in arbitrarily concluding that...
Philippine authorities on August 22 clarified that the country will not leave the United Nations (UN) despite a threat made by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte as a reaction to UN officials criticising his violent war on drugs.
“We certainly are not leaving the UN,” Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr said in a news conference, adding that the Philippines remains “committed” to the UN despite its “frustrations” with UN rapporteurs who want to investigate recent extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.
Yasay said: “The president is understandably extremely disappointed and frustrated with this action of the special rapporteurs in arbitrarily concluding that these drug-related killings were done by or are at the instance of law enforcers. But I can assure you that he remains committed to the United Nations, of which the Philippines is one of the founding members.”
He said the UN experts reacted only based on media reports.
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella also clarified that the country will not be leaving the UN.
“President Duterte was just basically stating the fact that the Philippines is a sovereign nation and should not be meddled with,” he said.
This comes after Duterte on August 21 threatened to withdraw the Philippines from the UN, as he launched another profanity-laced tirade against the organisation for criticising his bloody war on drugs.
“Maybe we’ll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations. If you are that disrespectful, son of a whore, then I will just leave you,” Duterte said.
Duterte even suggested to set up a rival international organisation.
“I would invite everybody. I would invite maybe China, the African (nations),” he said.
The UN’s special rapporteur on summary executions, Agnes Callamard, last week said Duterte’s promise of immunity and bounties to security forces who killed drug suspects violated international law.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in June also strongly criticised Duterte, who during the election campaign promised to kill 100,000 people and dump so many bodies in Manila Bay that the fish would grow fat from feeding on them.
More than 1,500 people have been killed since Duterte took office and immediately began his law-and-order crackdown, according to police statistics, triggering fierce criticism from the UN and rights groups.
