Duterte critics laud UN vote to scrutinize drug killings

MANILA, Philippines — Critics of the Philippine president’s deadly anti-drug campaign say a vote by the U.N.’s top human rights body to look into the thousands of deaths of suspects is a crucial step toward bringing perpetrators to justice.

However, President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman on Friday condemned the resolution adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva as Western meddling in Philippine government affairs and questioned the validity of the narrow vote. A Duterte ally says the killings were not state-sponsored.

The Human Rights Council voted 18-14 with 15 abstentions Thursday to approve the Iceland-initiated resolution, which called on the Philippine government to take all steps to prevent extrajudicial killings and asked the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a comprehensive report on rights in the Philippines.

The Associated Press