Glorified oppression tool

“Instead of being a uniting force, which the organization supposedly stands for, the UN through the rights commission resorted to a divisive move all in the name of demonization fed by the alliance of Rody’s yellow and Red critics.

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) annual meeting, which is held for almost a month yearly in Geneva, Switzerland, is proving to be a counterproductive effort for any of its members, particularly for the Philippines, since nothing came out of it for the greater benefit of Filipinos.

Instead, what it produced was the adoption of reports within the context of the Iceland resolution, which was nothing but black propaganda against the war on drugs peddled to anti-Duterte Western countries and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recommendation for the immediate release of Sen. Leila de Lima from what it called as “arbitrary detention.”

There is nothing arbitrary in the charges against De Lima since several witnesses including arrested drug lords and inmates all pointed to her as having operated the New Bilibid Prison narcotics distribution center when she was Department of Justice secretary.

Still, the UN resolution stated, “The detention is deemed arbitrary and recommends that Ms. de Lima be released immediately, afforded compensation, and that her detention be investigated.”

It concluded that her continued detention is considered “politically motivated by several special procedures mandate holders.”

The UN resolution was issued despite the detailed information on the legal proceedings and the status of the ongoing cases against her and the government’s appeal that, “It is improper to intervene with regard to her detention and prosecution in light of concerns for the independence and impartiality of the judicial process.”

Of course, that is a more diplomatic version of President Rody Duterte’s “don’t fuck with my country” message which is delivered in almost all fora he attends.

Instead of being a uniting force, which the organization supposedly stands for, the UN through the rights commission resorted to a “divisive” move all in the name of demonization fed by the alliance of Rody’s yellow and Red critics and their European and American backers.

The Iceland resolution that the UNHRC adopted directed the government to address the deaths related to the drug campaign and the facilitation of country visits by UN special rapporteurs.

Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat Undersecretary Severo Catura described the resolution as “not particularly useful in the UN Human Rights Council’s context.”

The Iceland resolution that started the ball rolling for the UNHRC’s adverse assessment on the country is being condemned by their own nationals similar to the view of former chief executive officer and managing director of Coca Cola International, Icelander Baering Ólafsson, who expressed his dismay on social media over his government’s resolution.

The Icelander even issued an apology for the “misstep” of his country saying, “I am not proud to be an Icelander here in the Philippines today.”

“The handling and fighting against drug cartels and criminal gangs inside of the Philippines is an internal domestic issue and a law enforcement issue by the Philippine government and there should be no interference from outside entities or countries,” he noted.

“If this is the way forward for Human Rights council of the UN, then which country is next? China, USA, Mexico, Indonesia, Thailand, Brazil, France, Italy?” Ólafsson added.

Moreover, he asserted, “There is full democracy and full freedom of speech and activities in all aspects of life in the Philippines and there is no human rights issue here at all. The only human rights violations here are the drug barons and criminal gangs that kill people at will and President Duterte has taken them on and has more than 80 percent of the population supporting him in doing so.”

The UNHRC allowing itself to be used as a political platform for the critics of Rody thus is a compelling reason to review the country’s membership in the prejudiced body.