After countlessly berating and criticizing the United Nations to the point of threatening to withdraw from it in his speeches in the last four years, President Duterte snuggled close to the global alliance in a bid to get favorable treatment for COVID-19 vaccines and a positive perspective for his anti- drugs war and his recently-signed anti- terrorism law.
At the same time, he reminded the UN leadership and its member countries to do some introspection about “whether or not we have remained true and faithful to the United Nations’ principles and ideals” conceived 75 years ago. He alluded to the UN’s inability to control and manage the refugee problem in the same vein that it could not stop wars, which cause such human dislocations.
In so many words, Duterte wanted to assert that a vaccine against COVID-19 must be made accessible to all nations—rich and poor. The world is in a race to find a safe and effective vaccine. When the world finds that vaccine, access to it must not be denied nor withheld. It should be made available to all, rich and poor nations alike, as a matter of policy, he said at the UN General Assembly meeting.
We need a World Health Organization that is quick to coordinate and quicker to respond. The Philippines will do its part in the pooling of global resources. Our health workers are among the best.
He said the escalating word war could lead to a real war of nuclear weapons and missiles. Then he told the stakeholders in the South China Sea, the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East and Africa “if we cannot be friends, let us not hate each other too much.”
Duterte said Filipino migrant workers have been devastated by the pandemic. Many have lost not only their livelihood, but also their health and lives as well. Yet they go on in the frontlines, healing, caring for others in the different parts of the world.
Then he called for stronger cooperation in promoting and protecting the rights of migrants, regardless of their migrant status and a strong adherence to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. Unless states include all migrants in their response to this pandemic as he quoted the Secretary General’s statement that “no one among us is safe, until everyone is safe.”
Refugees
He reminded the audience about helping the most vulnerable – those displaced by conflict, persecution, and political instability – is a shared responsibility of all countries.
“As I have said many times: The doors of the Philippines are open, as they have always been, to everyone fleeing for safety, such as the Rohingyas. In the face of a mounting refugee crisis worldwide, let us work together towards ending the conflicts and conditions that force people to flee their homes,” he said.
The Philippines has a long history of opening its doors to the refugees – from the White Russians following the 1917 Revolution, the European Jews in the Second World War, the Vietnamese in the late 1960s, and the Iranians displaced by the 1979 revolution, among others.
The Philippines continues to honor this humanitarian tradition in accordance with our obligations under the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol.
Climate Crisis
He said while the Philippines has suffered economic reversals because of COVID-19 the country is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals.
The same urgency needed to fight COVID-19 is needed to address the climate crisis. This is a global challenge that has worsened existing inequalities and vulnerabilities from within and between nations.
Climate change has worsened the ravages of the pandemic.
Peoples in developing countries like the Philippines suffer the most. We cannot afford to suffer more.
The Philippines joined the Paris Agreement to fight climate change. We call on all parties, especially those who have not made good their commitment to fight climate change, to honor the same.
We call on all parties to strengthen communities and peoples for preparedness and resilience. We are talking about mankind and Earth, our one and only home.
Human Rights
Despite his notorious violent anti-drugs war, Duterte said the Philippines is committed to protect the human rights of its people, especially from the scourge of illegal drugs, criminality, and terrorism even if many interest groups have weaponized human rights; some well-meaning, others ill-intentioned.
“These detractors pass themselves off as human rights advocates while preying on the most vulnerable humans; even using children as soldiers or human shields in encounters. Even schools are not spared from their malevolence and anti-government propaganda,” he said.
They hide their misdeeds under the blanket of human rights but the blood oozes through.
Duterte said to move forward, open dialogue and constructive engagement with the United Nations is the key. “But these must be done in full respect of the principles of objectivity, noninterference, non-selectivity and genuine dialogue. These are the fundamental bases for productive international cooperation on human rights.”
Terrorism
As if to justify his confirmation of the anti- terrorism law, Duterte said “terrorism looms large. As I said at the Aqaba Process, the Philippines will do everything and partner with anyone who would sincerely desire to protect the innocent from terrorism in all its manifestations.”
Then he justified the Marawi siege, “where foreign terrorist fighters took part, taught us that an effective legal framework is crucial. Our 2020 Anti-Terrorism Act shores up the legal framework by focusing on both terrorism and the usual reckless response to it.”
The anti-terrorism law, he added, was enacted in pursuance of “our commitment, and the strict adherence to the relevant Security Council resolutions and the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.”
He reiterated his commitment to “rebuild stricken communities and address the root causes of terrorism and violent extremism in my country,” particularly in Marawi which has been hardly rehabilitated until COVID-19 struck and delayed efforts to make it return to normalcy.
South China Sea
Through the efforts of his predecessor, President Benigno Aquino III, the Philippines was granted the Arbitral Award over the South China Sea issue in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“The Award is now part of international law, beyond compromise and beyond the reach of passing governments to dilute, diminish or abandon. We firmly reject attempts to undermine it” Duterte said (even as this would displease China, with whom he claimed complete friendship but became frustrated with China still not honoring its economic support promises for his projects).
“We welcome the increasing number of states that have come in support of the award and what it stands for — the triumph of reason over rashness, of law over disorder, of amity over ambition. This – as it should – is the majesty of the law.
He urged the UN member states to fully implement the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the Chemical and the Biological Weapons Conventions as he said he asked the Philippine Senate to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.” He bragged “we were among those to sign it first.”
Peacekeeping
He thanked the “gallant peacekeepers, including our own, who advance the cause of peace in the most difficult situations. From the Golan Heights in the Middle East to Liberia in West Africa, Filipino peacekeepers put themselves in the frontlines between the vulnerable and those who seek harm.”
Duterte said “we are committed to increasing the Philippine footprint in UN peacekeeping operations with increased participation of women.”
Again Mr. President: To defeat the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges, we must work with seamless unity which demands complete mutual trust and the conviction that we will win or lose together.
We cannot bring back the dead, but we can spare the living; and we can build back better, healthier, and more prosperous and just societies.
To this end, we rededicate ourselves to multilateralism. The UN remains humanity’s essential Organization. But it is only as effective as we make it.
Reform the UN
Duterte urged the UN to act on long-standing recommendations to improve the Security Council’s composition and working methods; to strengthen the role of the General Assembly; and to streamline the processes and the operations of the UN.
Indeed, to be ready for the new global normal, it cannot be business as usual for the UN.
Let us empower UN – reform it – to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.
Let us strengthen it so it can fully deliver its mandate to maintain peace and security, uphold justice and human rights, and promote freedom and social progress for all.