MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Sunday lashed back at Iceland and several other countries who earlier called on the Philippines to cooperate in assessing the human rights situation in the country.

In a statement sent from New York, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano scored the member-states of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for "insisting on their biased and unfounded criticism of Manila’s human rights record." 

38 UNHRC member-states urge PH to cooperate in human rights assessment

“We regret that Iceland and several other countries maintained their position despite our offer for them to visit the Philippines and objectively asses the human rights situation, especially at the community level,” Cayetano said. 

Iceland's foreign minister earlier urged the UNHRC to take further initiatives in the investigation of human rights violations in the Philippines in connection with the country’s war on drugs.

Cayetano meanwhile said he personally invited Iceland Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson to visit Manila so he could observe the human rights situation in the country. 

“Unfortunately, it seems our friends are really not interested in arriving at the truth and would rather rely on the misinformation being fed to them by parties that have politicized and weaponized human rights,” Secretary Cayetano said. 

The DFA said Iceland led 10 other members of the Council in signing the joint statement against the Philippines. 

“This is a minority in the 47-member Human Rights Council,” according to Philippine Permanent Representative Evan Garcia. 

The Philippines has come under international criticism over its bloody war on drugs that has has been plagued by allegations of extrajudicial killings. 

PNP: 23,000 killings under investigation in 2 years

The government however has denied the allegations.

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