Headline
PH human rights situation doesn’t merit UN intervention
“We underline that the human rights situation in the Philippines, does not by any measure, merit any Council action,” Ambassador Evan Garcia, Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, said in a statement delivered during the general debate at the 41st Session of the HRC.
MANILA — The Philippine government on Tuesday reiterated that the human rights situation in the country does not merit any intervention from the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), following UN high commissioner’s call for probe on the deaths allegedly related to Manila’s campaign against illegal drugs.
“We underline that the human rights situation in the Philippines, does not by any measure, merit any Council action,” Ambassador Evan Garcia, Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, said in a statement delivered during the general debate at the 41st Session of the HRC.
The envoy underscored that the Philippines has a fully-functioning accountability mechanism and independent judicial institutions and that it is a “democratic and vibrant nation” with a “human rights-oriented agenda whose impact on the poor and marginalized is felt and seen.
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Garcia also said Manila’s accountability mechanism is committed to promoting transparency on the investigation around deaths allegedly related to the anti-illegal drug campaign.
“These render any Council action on the Philippines unnecessary,” he noted.
“We trust that the Council will remain conscious of our obligation to strengthen this body, preserve its credibility, and protect it from being abused by interest groups that use the Council and its mechanism as a platform to advance their self-serving political agenda,” he added.
The position was presented in response to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet supporting the call for an independent UN inquiry into the deaths surrounding the said campaign.
Meanwhile, Garcia welcomed the rectified figures related to the program cited by Bachelet in her report.
“We consider it a way forward that the High Commissioner has abandoned the false narrative peddled by interest groups and we are ready to engage with her in further clarifying the figures and steps taken by the government to address concerns on accountability, case by case,” he said.
