Philippines distances itself from UN Human Rights Commission on Myanmar
MANILA – The Philippines opted to dissociate itself from the resolution from the Special Session of the Human Rights implications on the ongoing crisis in Myanmar which began last Monday, February 1.
In a statement released shortly after midday today, the DFA said “the Philippines has been supportive of Myanmar’s progress towards a fuller democracy, cognizant of the Army’s role in preserving its territorial integrity and national security.” It said the Philippines recognizes the unifying role of Daw Aung Suu Kyi in Myanmar’s history and the Army her father founded.
Recognized as a person deeply and widely admired “icon of democracy” among the Filipino people after the recent struggles that led to the complete restoration of democracy by entirely domestic efforts that inspired successful efforts in the rest of the Cold War world.
“It has called for the complete restoration of the status quo ante, on which the full realization of this democratic process can only be achieved,” the statement said.
Important achievements towards democratization during the past ten years with the presence of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the Philippines will call for the complete restoration of the status quo in which Myanmar had significant progress.
However, the Philippines, being a sovereign country, “cannot stress strongly enough the primacy of national internal efforts towards democratic reforms, and never by the imposition of foreign solutions in regional or multilateral contexts, including through this council. We reaffirm our support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Myanmar.”
The Philippines joined China, Russia, Venezuela and Bolivia in dissociating itself from the Human Rights Council consensus that adopted the resolution without calling for a vote. There are 47 member countries with 13 seats from African States, 13 seats from Asia and the Pacific, eight seats for Latin American and Caribbean States, seven seats for Western Europe and other States and six seats for Eastern European States. (Melo M. Acuña)
