Senator Imee Marcos. INQUIRER.net file photo / CATHY MIRANDA
MANILA, Philippines — Aside from cutting diplomatic ties with Iceland, the Philippines may still lobby for the reversal of a resolution that asks the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to look into the human-rights situation in the country.
Senator Imee Marcos floated this idea on Thursday, still reacting to the Iceland resolution earlier adopted by the UNHRC.
“It is not yet final,” Marcos said in a statement.
The senator said there is nothing in the rules that prohibits UNHRC-member states from changing their original votes.
“History shows it has been done before and involving a very profound issue. Israel is today a globally recognized state because of vote changes on a UN resolution legitimizing Israel’s statehood, thanks to lobbying by United States diplomats in Israel’s favor,” she pointed out.
But how can the UNHRC vote be reversed?
“Our country’s top diplomat can demand of any foreign ambassador based here to explain their country’s vote in favor of the controversial UN resolution initiated by Iceland,” Marcos said. “From there, an amicable and mutually beneficial decision may be reached.”
Eighteen of the 47-member UNHRC voted in favor of the resolution, 14 rejected it while15 abstained.
READ: HOW NATIONS VOTED: UN draft resolution on human rights situation in PH
“The Philippines can also negotiate with European Union states that are non-members of the UNHRC to speak with EU members who voted,” she added.
Marcos earlier insisted that the Philippines should cut its diplomatic ties with Iceland, saying, “it had no reason to antagonize the Philippines.”
“Whatever political agenda Iceland has because of its floundering balance of trade, the resolution it sponsored to review allegations of human-rights abuse in the Philippines is sheer hypocrisy,” she said.
“Let me say it once again: Legalized abortion up to 22 weeks into a pregnancy in Iceland is a state-sponsored human-rights violation against defenseless, unborn children.”
READ: Marcos suggests PH should cut ties with Iceland after UNHRC ruling
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. already said though the Philippines would not pull out from the UNHRC or cut ties with any county. /jpv
READ: Locsin: Philippines won’t cut ties with UN rights body, other nations