Duterte in row with UN rights chief

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has launched a foul-mouthed attack on the UN human rights chief, calling him “empty-headed” in a row over international criticism of the Philippine leader’s deadly drug war.

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN high commissioner on human rights, had last month said Duterte needed “psychiatric evaluation” and that his verbal attacks on a United Nations rapporteur who condemned his antidrug crackdown could not go unanswered.

“Hey son of a whore, you commissioner, I need to go to a psychiatrist?” asked Duterte in a speech late Tuesday.

“The psychiatrist told me: ‘You are OK, mayor. You are just fond of cursing’,” Duterte said, referring to his former title.

The Philippine leader added he had been advised to refrain from commenting on the remarks of Zeid, a Jordanian prince, but he wanted to “seek revenge”.

“Look, you have a big head but it’s empty. There is no grey matter between your ears. It’s hollow. It’s empty. It cannot even sustain a nutrient for your hair to grow because his hair here is gone,” Duterte said as he touched his head.

Philippine police say they have killed roughly 4,100 suspects who fought back during arrest, but rights groups allege the actual number is three times higher and accuse the authorities of murder.

Zeid, who has criticised alleged extrajudicial killings in the drug war, last month said Duterte’s remarks about a UN rapporteur seeking to investigate the matter were “absolutely disgraceful”.