THE United Nations rapporteur team must follow protocol if they want to be invited to the Philippines and not course their invitation through the media, Malacañang said on Sunday.
“The United Nations must go through the right process, the right protocol if they want to be invited and not through the media,” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar told dzRB radio.
Earlier, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay slammed the United Nations’ human rights rapporteurs for criticizing Manila’s war on illegal drugs, describing a report by them as “highly-irresponsible.”
“The Duterte administration’s war on drugs, a very urgent and critical domestic matter, is being waged with firm adherence to our established human rights principles,” Yasay said.
He said Duterte “has, time and again, declared his avowed purpose to pursue this war on drugs in accordance with the rule of law and full respect for human rights and has, in fact, urged civil rights organizations to immediately provide evidence of extra-judicial killings.
“Media reports may serve as their lead, but such reports do not constitute prima facie evidence of fact. It is highly irresponsible on their part to solely rely on such allegations based on ‘information’ from unnamed sources without proper substantiation,” Yasay said, referring to the report by he Special Rapporteur for Extra-judicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions and the Special Rapporteur for the Right to Health.
He said the rapporteurs’ failure to act “in accordance with existing procedures in engaging and cooperating with member states” drew the ire of Duterte.
“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 at the instance of, law enforcers,” Yasay said.
He said the Philippines was not pulling out of the United Nations, and that it was committed to the organization despite its “frustrations.”
Yasay’s statement was made in reaction to the statement by President Rodrigo Duterte that the Philippines would “separate” from the UN after the world body criticized his war on illicit drugs.
Yasay also appealed for support from the global community.
“We call on the global community to support us, not to simply provide lip service in eradicating this urgent international problem towards uplifting the quality of life of the community and families and assure a bright future for their children.”