HRW: Locsin’s remark vs Iceland resolution ‘outrageous, malicious’

Photo from Carlos Conde’s Twitter account

MANILA, Philippines — The Human Rights Watch (HRW) slammed the “outrageous and malicious” remarks of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. against a resolution filed before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that would look into the human rights situation in the Philippines.

HRW’s Philippines researcher Carlos Conde issued this statement after Locsin claimed on Twitter that “[i]f the Iceland resolution wins that means bonuses for everyone who worked for it — from the drug cartels.”

READ: Drug cartels to give bonuses if Iceland resolution wins – Locsin

“This is an outrageous and malicious statement by the Philippines’ top diplomat,” Conde said in a statement he posted on his Facebook account on Wednesday.

“It shows the desperation of the Philippine government to frustrate accountability for its atrocious ‘drug war’,” he added.

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Iceland filed a draft resolution before the UNHRC last July 4 calling on the High Commissioner on Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to prepare and present a “comprehensive written report” on the human rights situation in the Philippines.

READ: 28 states urge UN to report on human rights situation in PH

The draft resolution, which was backed by more than two dozen member states of the United Nations, also urged the Philippine government to “take all necessary measures to prevent extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances” and to conduct “impartial investigations and to hold perpetrators accountable in accordance with international norms and standards including due process and the rule of law.”

The draft resolution likewise recalled the “repeated expressions of concern” coming from Bachelet herself and the council’s special procedure mandate holders about the human rights situation in the Philippines.

The UNHRC, composed of 47 nations, is expected to vote on the resolution within the week.

Conde likewise said that the HRW was “appalled” by the “disinformation and lies being spread” by the foreign affairs chief.

“Sowing lies and disinformation is part of the government’s aggressive and deceitful  campaign to avoid being scrutinized for the human rights violations in the Philippines,” he added. (Editor: Julie Espinosa)