Philippine president needs 'psychiatric evaluation': UN rights chief

UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has questioned the mental stability of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Source: AAP

The UN human rights chief said Friday that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has launched profanity-laced diatribes against United Nations rapporteurs, needs "psychiatric evaluation".

Listing some of Manila's actions against UN officials, rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said "it makes one believe that the president of the Philippines needs to submit himself to some sort of psychiatric evaluation."

Zeid and other UN rights officials have focused significant attention on Duterte's controversial drug war.

Police have killed more than 4,100 drug suspects, but rights groups allege more than 8,000 others have been murdered in what they describe as crimes against humanity.

The UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial killings, Agnes Callamard, has become a particular Duterte target over her criticism of his campaign to stamp out illegal drugs.

In an exchange with Manila's envoys in the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday, Zeid referred to November media reports from the Philippines that quoted Duterte threatening to slap Callamard, while using profanity.

"These attacks cannot go unanswered," Zeid told reporters on Friday.


Share

1 min read

Published

Source: AFP, SBS


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world