MANILA, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines does not intend to withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the presidential spokesman said on Thursday.
Spokesman Harry Roque was reacting to a question on whether the U.S. withdrawal from the UNHRC was vindication of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's strong stance against UNHRC High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.
"You know the president is very careful never to comment on sovereign decisions in the same way he does not want other states commenting on [our] domestic sovereign decisions. So we leave it at that," Roque said in a press briefing.
He added, "If that's the decision of the Americans, so be it. We are also in the UN Human Rights Council. We are not following suit if that's the question."
In September 2017, the UNHRC High Commissioner expressed "grave concerns" over a number of issues including the killings of drug suspects and users in the Philippines. Al Hussein's statements angered Duterte, prompting him to slam the UNHRC High Commissioner in April.