Philippines scores Iceland, others for ‘blindly’ criticizing HR situation

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines yesterday hit back at Iceland and several other mostly European nations for “blindly” criticizing the human rights situation in the country.

Manila instead pointed to their severe shortcomings for inhumane treatment of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants.

Manila said criticism of the countries, led by Iceland, of the Philippines’ human rights record is “biased” and “unfounded” and these nations are only a minority in the 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council.

“We regret that Iceland and several other countries maintained their position despite our offer for them to visit the Philippines and objectively assess the human rights situation, especially at the community level,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in New York.

Cayetano, who was presiding over a command conference for Filipino diplomats from the Americas, said he even personally extended an invitation to Iceland Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson to visit Manila to personally observe the human rights situation in the country. 

“Unfortunately, it seems our friends are really not interested in arriving at the truth and would rather rely on the misinformation being fed to them by parties that have politicized and weaponized human rights,” Cayetano said. ??

Cayetano issued a statement after Iceland and several other countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and Finland, again criticized the Philippines at the general debate of the 38th Session of the Human Rights Council.

Cayetano warned that “Politics is politics but politicizing human rights endangers lives.” 

According to the Philippine Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Iceland led 10 other members of the UNHRC in signing the joint statement against the Philippines. 

“This is a minority in the 47-member Human Rights Council,” according to Philippine Permanent Representative Evan Garcia.

Garcia threw back the attack by pointing out the anti-migrant sentiments in parts of Europe and elsewhere, including some of the countries that spoke against the Philippines.  

“We are shocked by the persistent abusive and inhumane treatment of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, whether legal or otherwise, their lack of inclusion in society and their oftentimes woefully limited access to all kinds of services,” Garcia said.

In exercising Manila’s right of reply during the general debate, Garcia cited numerous reports of exploitation of migrants under conditions of great vulnerability. ??

“We remind countries that have such severe shortcomings, including the United Kingdom and Australia, that the Philippines has preferred to engage with them in a positive manner, whether bilaterally or multilaterally,” Garcia said.

He cited as examples the Global Forum for Migration and Development and the ongoing negotiations for the Global Compact on Migration.  

“This is in stark contrast with the needlessly confrontational attitude they have taken in (the UN Human Rights) Council,” he added. ?

Garcia also noted that developing countries are currently hosting 80 percent of the world’s refugees.

“It is a shame for developed countries to keep their eyes shut to this growing concern,” Garcia said.

He stressed the Philippines, a developing country with its more than 100 million population, has been doing its small part in sharing the global burden of the protection of refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless persons and other persons of concern.

“The Philippines remains a responsible member of this august body. We are respectful of our international human rights obligations. We remain a free, dynamic and democratic society. There is no basis, therefore, for the Council to be concerned with the situation in the Philippines,” Garcia said.

Member states of the UNHRC urged the Philippine government to put an end to alleged rights abuses in its bloody war on drugs and bow to strong calls for an external investigation into the deadly campaign.

This is the second time Iceland made a statement on the subject.

In February, Cayetano invited Thordarson to visit the Philippines to see for himself the human rights situation in the country.

He extended the invitation after Iceland’s top diplomat called on the UN to investigate the Philippines because of the alleged widespread human rights violations related to its ongoing campaign against illegal drugs. 

Cayetano was confident that Thordarson would change his views about the human rights situation in the Philippines if he gets to visit the country. 

In his remarks during the high-level segment of the 37th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in February, Thordarson said his country takes pride in leading 40 nations in calling out the Philippines over alleged human rights violations committed in the war on drugs.

Thordarson also urged the Philippines to allow UN special rapporteur Agnes Callamard to visit without any precondition or limitation so she could conduct an objective assessment of the human rights situation in the country.