(Eagle News) — Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on Saturday slammed United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein for his pronouncement that President Rodrigo Duterte should have himself examined by a psychiatrist.
In a statement, Cayetano said Zeid’s remarks “cast untoward aspersions regarding the President of the Republic of the Philippines” and “bring great dishonor to the Human Rights Council and its noble endeavors.”
“This action of (the) High Commissioner is completely uncalled for and demeans not only the head of state of a member-state, but tarnishes the reputation of the Office of the High Commissioner…There is no reason whatsoever for such an unmeasured outburst directed against (Duterte) and it should not be repeated,” he said.
According to Cayetano, Zeid’s action “could set a dangerous precedent that the Council would have to immediately address as otherwise member-states could also fall victim to those who seek to politicize and weaponize human rights to undermine legitimate governments.”
“The Philippines is perturbed over the manner in which a ranking UN human rights official can overstep his mandate and insult leaders of member-states without first giving them due process,” Cayetano said.
Noting some of Duterte’s actions against UN officials, including his tirades against UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard, Zeid said on Friday that it made “one believe that the president of the Philippines needs to submit himself to some sort of psychiatric evaluation.”
“These attacks cannot go unanswered,” Zeid told reporters.