Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte threatens to leave UN

[Pinoy]

BBC NEWS
August 21, 2016

• 2 hours ago

Mr Duterte branded UN experts critical of his anti-drugs campaign as "stupid"

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to "separate" from the UN after it criticised his war on drugs as a crime under international law.

Mr Duterte said he might ask China and African nations to form another body. He also accused the UN of failing on terrorism, hunger and ending conflicts.

Mr Duterte, elected in May, has sanctioned the killing of traffickers to try to wipe out the drugs trade.

The UN has repeatedly condemned the drive as a violation of human rights.

Some 900 suspected drug traffickers have been killed since Mr Duterte was elected on 9 May.

Duterte: 'Punisher' to president

Last week, two UN human rights experts said Mr Duterte's directive for police and the public to kill suspected drug traffickers amounted to "incitement to violence and killing, a crime under international law".

In an expletives-laden tirade against the UN on Sunday, Mr Duterte branded the experts "stupid", saying they should count the number of innocent lives lost to drugs.

"I do not want to insult you. But maybe we'll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations," he said.

"If you are that rude, we might just as well leave," he said.

"So take us out of your organisation. You have done nothing. Where were you here the last time? Never. Except to criticise," he said.

Mr Duterte said the UN should refund its contribution "so we can go out".

Mr Duterte said the UN had been unable to combat hunger and terrorism and had failed to end the killing of civilians in Iraq and Syria.

"You now, United Nations, if you can say one bad thing about me, I can give 10 [about you]. I tell you, you are [useless]. Because if you are really true to your mandate, you could have stopped all these wars and killings."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have both condemned Mr Duterte's "apparent endorsement of extrajudicial killings, which is illegal and a breach of fundamental rights and freedoms".

Mr Duterte was sworn in as president in June, after winning a landslide election victory.

He had previously been mayor of the country's third biggest city, Davao, for 22 years where his tough approach and controversial comments earned him the nickname "The Punisher".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37147630

 

[Pinoy]

Duterte Threatens to Withdraw Philippines From UN, Hits US

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
August 21, 2016 — 2:49 PM HKT

Davao, Philippines (AP) -- The Philippines' brash-talking president has threatened to withdraw his country from the United Nations in his latest outburst against critics of his anti-drugs campaign that has left hundreds of suspects dead.

President Rodrigo Duterte ridiculed the U.N. as inutile, and lashed at U.S. police killings of black men.

He pointed early Sunday to the haunting image of a bloodied child pulled from the rubble of a missile-struck building in the Syrian city of Aleppo to hit U.N. and U.S. inability to stop such deadly conflicts while he said he comes under fire for the deaths of criminals.

Duterte also pressed allegations against a Philippine senator and critic, accusing her of having an affair with her driver whom he linked to illegal drugs.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...atens-to-withdraw-philippines-from-un-hits-us




Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte threatens to leave U.N. over criticism
By Euan McKirdy, CNN

Updated 0801 GMT (1601 HKT) August 21, 2016

Philippines drug war sparks outrage, fear

(CNN)Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to leave the United Nations in response to criticism of his approach to drug crime since taking office.

The pugnacious new leader made the comments in a speech Sunday in Davao City, the southern Filipino city where he served as mayor for over two decades.
"Maybe we'll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations," he said during the address.

"If you are that insulting, we should just leave," he said,according to a translation by CNN affiliate CNN Philippines.

"Take us out of your organization. You have done nothing anyway."

He accused the U.N. of ignoring the plight of the country.

"When were you here last time? Nothing. Never. Except to criticize."

The comments come days after the U.N. urged Duterte's administration to step back from its violent approach to drug crime.

The crackdown since Duterte took office in late June has seen over 650 police killings -- deaths Duterte and his top police officer, Roland Dela Rosa say are justified self-defense killings -- alongside as many as 900 unexplained murders perpetrated by suspected vigilantes.

Duterte has also publicly accused dozens of officials and politicians of being involved in the drug trade.


U.N. urges end to extrajudicial killings

— Dr Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) August 19, 2016
Duterte's undiplomatic style has landed him in hot water before. He recently insulted the US Ambassador to the Philippines, calling him a "gay son of a bitch," and prior to taking office used similarly colorful language to complain that Pope Francis' visit to the country had resulted in traffic jams.

Popular Leader

Duterte enjoys high levels of support among Filipinos, who he says are tired of the scourge of drugs.

However, the new president's approach to drug crime is facing scrutiny within the country, with one of Duterte's most vocal opponents, Senator Leila de Lima, conducting an inquiry into the high numbers of drug-related deaths since the new leader took office.

The senator has called Duterte's top police officer, Dela Rosa, to a senate hearing on the issue.

Last week, in a speech to police officials, Duterte launched a deeply personal attack on de Lima, shocking many Filipinos.

Duterte stands by his tactics, which he says are justified in ridding the country of drugs.

"My orders are for the police to go out and hunt for criminals," he said. 'I tell them to arrest these criminals if they surrender peacefully, but kill them if they put up a violent struggle. I assume full responsibility for what happens."

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/21/asia/philippines-duterte-threatens-to-leave-un/

 

[Nilgiri]

Agree with him. The UN is a big bunch of bureaucrats that accomplish next to nothing....a large hole that money and attention gets dumped into.

 

[AndrewJin]

Agree with him. The UN is a big bunch of bureaucrats that accomplish next to nothing....a large hole that money and attention gets dumped into.

And u still wanna have a permanent seat of UNSC, spending huge amount of money lobbying.

 

[Nilgiri]

And u still wanna have a permanent seat of UNSC, spending huge amount of money lobbying.

Define huge amount?

Thats more of a prestige thing anyway....does not affect realpolitik all that much. Germany and Japan get along fine without a UNSC permanent seat...so will India for however long it takes.

Doesn't change the fact that the UN is pretty much useless and a token figurehead in the geopolitical environment.

Real power and diplomacy is brokered outside of it.

 

[AndrewJin]

Define huge amount?

Thats more of a prestige thing anyway....does not affect realpolitik all that much. Germany and Japan get along fine without a UNSC permanent seat...so will India for however long it takes.

Doesn't change the fact that the UN is pretty much useless and a token figurehead in the geopolitical environment.

Real power and diplomacy is brokered outside of it.

It looks pathetic.

 

[Brickwall]

Idea is good, people who smuggle drug needs to be killed, but problem is checks and balances, soon there will be innocent people will be killed. that creates more problem then solving

 

[livingdead]

is he for real? were philipinos so pissed off with the previous president that they elected a clown? his language seem to be from gutters.

 

[Soulspeek]

Cant this President give life time prison sentence to those offenders? They can be forced to work in jail to earn their living so that it does not cost much to exchequer.

 

[sword1947]

what he said is right, but he can not do that because it is not good for his country

 

[BoQ77]

I love this guy.

 

[dy1022]

 

[ahojunk]

@Pinoy

Thanks for posting interesting stories of President Rodrigo Duterte.

I like his style - he doesn't take any sh*t from anyone.

He is straight to the point, no nonsense and dispense with all the political and diplomatic bullsh*t.

IMHO, he will get things done for the Philippines.

We can see things happening under his presidency.

 

[Brainsucker]

I like President Rodrigo Duterte style of fighting drug.

 

[Cossack25A1]

Cant this President give life time prison sentence to those offenders? They can be forced to work in jail to earn their living so that it does not cost much to exchequer.

The corruption here in the PH is too bad that putting such offenders to prison will be like a "paradise" for said offenders.

By default, any drug offender that is found guilty receives the "Reclusión perpetua" (Permanent Imprisonment) verdict.

Besides, many Filipinos had enough with drug offenders.

is he for real? were philipinos so pissed off with the previous president that they elected a clown? his language seem to be from gutters.

Probably, though I won't call him a "clown", it just happens hat the frankly says what he feels to the public.