Duterte Slams U.N., Threatens to Leave Global Organization
What you need to know
The United Nations has called out Duterte's war on drugs, but the Philippine president isn't having any of it.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday threatened to pull out of the U.N. after his so-called "war on drugs" was criticized by human rights experts last week.
Two U.N. experts called on Manila last week to stop the killings of drug suspects, saying Duterte’s anti-drug campaign amounted to "incitement to violence and killing, a crime under international law,” according to the BBC.
In a press conference on Sunday, Duterte fired back and said the experts were “stupid” and asked them to take into account the number of innocent lives lost to drugs.
The president berated the U.N. for the criticism, adding that the organization had "unfairly singled out" the Philippines.
“I have yet to see the United Nations complaining publicly, even not criticizing countries who are into bombing villages and communities, killing everybody there including the goats and the cows and the dogs,” Duterte said.
He then appeared to threaten the Philippines would leave the U.N., saying “if you are that rude, we might just as well leave,” adding that he would invite other nations, including China and African countries, to form a new global organization.
Duterte also took the opportunity to reiterate his support for the police, asking them, “not to be intimidated [by] the statement of the United Nations.”
“If you cannot bring [a suspect] to the police station, [and you need] to overcome the resistance and in the process the operation is placing your life in jeopardy – shoot and shoot him dead,” he said.
He said the U.N. should have acted according to protocol, by sending an official to talk to him.
"You do not just go out and give a shitting statement against a country," Duterte said.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay said today that claims by two U.N. human rights experts’ were “baseless and irresponsible.” However, he denied the Philippines intend to leave the U.N., GMA News reported.
“We are committed to the U.N. We are not leaving the U.N.,” he said.
Duterte’s anti-drug campaign is said to have claimed the lives of around 1,000 drug addicts and dealers since the president took office, and police have admitted responsibility for the deaths of nearly 600 drug suspects since July.
First Editor: Edward White
Second Editor: J. Michael Cole