Philippines rejects United Nations resolution on drug war

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has voted against a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution calling for the protection and promotion of human rights in efforts to address the problem of illegal drugs.

The Philippines was among 11 countries that voted against the resolution, which was adopted after receiving 26 affirmative votes during the UNHRC session in Geneva, Switzerland on Friday.

Joining the Philippine delegation in voting against the resolution were China, Cuba, Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

Among those that supported the resolution were the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Germany and Spain.

Eleven countries, including Qatar and South Africa, abstained from the vote.

The Philippines is the only Southeast Asian country that took part in the session participated in by 47 countries.

It voted against the petition after the UNHRC, voting 15-18, rejected Manila’s proposal to include a paragraph that would welcome “progress made in strengthening and expanding existing cooperation on the public health-related aspects of the world drug problem.”

The Philippines also wanted the council to recognize “the need for intensified efforts to support member-states, upon request, in addressing and countering the world drug problem in accordance with a comprehensive, integrated and balanced approach.”

The resolution – submitted by Albania, Brazil, Colombia, Greece, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Portugal, Switzerland, Uruguay – sought to reaffirm the importance of human rights in addressing the illegal drug problem.

It highlighted the commitment by the UN General Assembly to respect, protect and promote “all human rights, fundamental freedoms and the inherent dignity of all individuals and the rule of law in the development and implementation of drug policies.”

The resolution also noted the need to address the different causes of the drug problem, including those in the fields of health, social, human rights, economic, justice, public security and law enforcement fields.

The UNHRC also called on member-states to mainstream a gender perspective and ensure the involvement of women in all stages of the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of drug policies and programs.

The Department of Foreign Affairs repeatedly maintained that the Duterte administration respects human rights of all Filipinos, claiming that critics are using the issue for political purposes.