The United States’ withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) won’t impact the ongoing discourse in the Philippines on whether the country should rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to former Senator and human rights lawyer Leila De Lima.
De Lima emphasized that even if the move may have “minimal influence,” it will not stop Filipinos “clamoring for (former President Rodrigo) Duterte to be tried by the ICC, nor will there be any substantial change on how they perceive human rights.”
“Pro-EJK (extrajudicial killings), and anti-human rights Duterte supporters will continue to attack human rights, and pro-human rights Filipinos will continue to believe in human rights. There will be no change,” De Lima told Manila Standard.
Earlier, President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US from UNHRC, claiming that it is “not living up” to its potential.
Amnesty International criticized Trump’s decision, calling it “performative” and a clear demonstration of his disregard for human rights and international cooperation.
“It seems that President Trump is uninterested in having a seat at that table to shape the norms and policies of the future,” Amnesty International said in a statement.
“This isn’t about President Trump thumbing his nose at the institution. Instead, he’s just demonstrating that he’d rather make a callous show of rejecting human rights than do the work needed to protect and promote them for people everywhere, including in the US,” it added.
Human rights lawyer Ross Tugade echoed De Lima’s sentiments, stating that concerns about its potential influence on public opinion in the Philippines are “moot,” given the drastic shifts in human rights discourse in the country over the past decade.
“If at all, the move will signal the general direction of the Trump administration’s engagement with international bodies. That is the more fundamental insight here,” Tugade told Manila Standard in a message.
