Palace: Rejecting UN rights recommendations a Philippine prerogative

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang yesterday justified the government’s rejection of more than half of the recommendations it received during the third Philippine Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, saying the decision was in line with the country’s independent foreign policy.

The Philippines has rejected 154 of 257 recommendations by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), including allowing a UN special rapporteur to look into alleged extrajudicial killings, halting efforts to restore the death penalty and lowering the age of criminal responsibility.

At the UN General Assembly last Saturday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Cayetano cautioned the body against “misinformation” on the Duterte administration’s war on illegal drugs and decried what he called the “politicization of human rights.”

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the Philippines has the prerogative to accept or reject the recommendations of the UN.

“The Philippines has committed to fully accept 103 out of the 257 recommendations that we received during the Third Philippine Universal Periodic Review in Geneva,” Abella said.

“A careful review and inclusive consultation with inputs from various stakeholders, especially from representatives from the state’s executive, legislative and judicial departments, was done, and in line with our independent foreign policy,” he added.

Abella claimed that the UNHRC had recognized the accomplishments of the Duterte administration in upholding human rights.

“What really matters is that the United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted the Philippine report recognizing the country’s human rights record and commitments under the leadership of President Duterte.”

One of the recommendations rejected by the Philippines was the proposal to allow UN special rapporteur Agnes Callamard to come to the Philippines to investigate the killings linked to the drug war.

Asked why the Duterte administration rejected the recommendation despite its earlier invitation for Callamard to visit the Philippines, Abella said: “This is all part of our prerogative to exercise independent foreign policy.”

“There are certain items that we feel needs to be acted on… in order to continue to maintain our constitutional stance of maintaining an independent foreign policy,” he added.

Abella maintained that the Philippines is not denying the occurrence of extrajudicial killings.

“There is no denial there. In fact, the UN has accepted what we’ve said. However, it’s just that, we maintain that there are certain parameters that need not be infringed upon,” he said.

Abella said the finer details about the invitation to Callamard can be answered by the foreign affairs department.

“However, as the President has also expressed again and again, he is even willing to host a contingent from the United Nations to be able to set up shop in the Philippines,” the presidential spokesman added.

Duterte’s war on drugs, which has left thousands of people dead, has earned criticisms including from international personalities and institutions for allegedly encouraging extrajudicial killings and abusive practices.

Duterte has denied condoning extrajudicial killings and other illegal acts but maintained that the crackdown is needed to protect the country’s next generation.

Fake victory

For opposition senators, the victory being claimed by the administration in defending its human rights record is “fake.”

“If there’s fake news, there’s also fake victory. The people lost here. Only human rights violators will rejoice in this,” Sen. Risa Hontiveros said.

She said there could be no victory as the administration rejected 154 recommendations made by other UNHRC member-states and officials to improve the country’s human rights situation.

Detained Sen. Leila de Lima said Malacañang released fake news when it congratulated itself and Cayetano for the country’s supposedly sterling performance at the UPR of the UNHRC.

“This is of course a lot of bull crap,” De Lima said in a statement.

She said the true measure of the Philippines’ performance in the UPR is the nature of the questions, comments and recommendations for the Philippine country report and the actions taken on these.

She said these are all included in the “outcome report” prepared by a troika of three rapporteur states, the UPR Working Group consisting of 47 members of the UNHRC, the Philippines and the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR).

The “outcome report” provides a summary of the actual discussions in the UPR, De Lima pointed out.

She noted the UPR review on the Philippines for this cycle started way back in May. During that time, 45 out of 47 states participating in the UPR had expressed concern over the spate of killings in Duterte’s drug war.

“With 257 recommendations, 44 of them on extrajudicial killings summarily ignored by the Philippine government, the ‘outcome report’ on the Philippines adopted by the UNHRC plenary is actually the world’s collective condemnation of the Duterte government’s human rights record,” she said.

“To spin it otherwise as a resounding victory for Duterte and Cayetano merely proves that Malacañang is now the number one leading source of fake news in the country,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is not taking issue with Cayetano’s citing human rights as a goal of the government’s war on illegal drugs.

“The commission has consistently supported the drug campaign of the government as it will pave the way for fuller realization of rights,” lawyer Jacqueline de Guia told The STAR in a text message.

“A campaign that will result in more apprehensions leading to rehabilitation as envisioned in RA 9165 and not allegations of extrajudicial killings is what we espouse though,” De Guia stressed.

Speaking at the 72nd UN General Assembly, Cayetano said the anti-illegal drugs campaign “never violated any individual group’s human rights.”

“The Philippines’ comprehensive campaign against illegal drugs is a necessary instrument to preserve and protect the human rights of all Filipinos,” Cayetano said in his 25-minute-long speech.  – With Paolo Romero, Rainier Allan Ronda