Philippines slams nations for their call to stop killings

manila — The Philippine government has denounced 39 mostly Western nations, including the United States, Britain and France, which have urged it to end thousands of killings under President Rodrigo Duterte’s antidrug crackdown and allow investigations in cooperation with the international community.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said on Friday that its diplomats told the countries, which issued a joint statement in Geneva expressing serious concern over human rights conditions in the Philippines, “to respect Manila’s domestic processes.”

The government said it takes “grave exception to the sweeping and politicised statement” delivered by Iceland on behalf of 38 other countries during a meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva this week.

In their statement, the countries said they “remain concerned about the thousands of killings and climate of impunity associated with the war on drugs,” and cited Philippine commitments to investigate these crimes and observe due process.

“We urge the Philippine government to take all steps to bring these killings to an end and cooperate with the international community to pursue appropriate investigations,” the countries said, citing the need for Manila to adhere to “universal principles of democratic accountability and the rule of law.” —