President Duterte and the United Nations

The issue is all about the recent reports regarding the Philippines, its President and the United Nations. All in which it seemed as either protecting the sovereignty of a nation or isolating it from the rest of the world.


WHAT'S IN THE NEWS?

Source: Rappler

The president's style of flushing addicts and corrupt people are indeed an inspiration for the Filipinos who are thirsty for change. It is even spoke out across the world. Speaking of which, not everybody agrees on such a policy. That includes some Filipinos with another mindset and most foreigners, particularly westerners, who see this as extrajudicial killings. That though aside from other foreigners like those in the Middle East, some westerners, and those in the neighboring nations who support this guy. 

Such radical action is a big no-no in the eyes in the United Nations even from the beginning way long before ascending to presidency [link here]. Due to the fact that persecuting or killing people without due process, as with their idea, is deemed bloody in the sense that it can also affect innocent people or in more sense, violating human rights. Speaking of which, Pres. Duterte isn't not keen to human rights. Or in mere sense as what the other twist of perspective there is, he is protecting human rights in the way that sacrifices like killing criminals is a must so that the people will live peacefully.

That leads to him criticizing the world organization and instead threatening to pull the whole nation out of it as a member [link here]. It can be good for asserting sovereign rights though, but it also means getting isolated from the rest of the world in which economically speaking, make the whole national market go crashing down the basin. Now, for the viewpoint from a person with reasonable thinking.

RANDOM VIEWPOINTS
From John Robin Bustamante [link here]

Source: CNN Philippines.

Duterte threatened he will withdraw the Philippines from the United Nations. If anything, this proves how little Duterte actually knows about how the UN works.

According to the United Nations Charter, there exists no provisions for voluntary withdrawal of member states from the UN.

This was deliberately made for two reasons: to prevent withdrawal threats from being used as a political bargaining tool (like what Duterte is doing) or to prevent erring governments from evading their obligations under the Charter (like what Duterte is doing.)

Before the UN, we had the League of Nations (LN). In 1933, Imperial Japan withdrew from the LN after the League condemned the Japanese invasion of China. Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy also withdrew from the League. With the Axis Powers now outside its mandate, the LN was left powerless to stop World War 2.

UN membership is practically permanent. You can't just leave in order to avoid having to answer for your actions to the assembly. Customary international law under Article 62 of the Vienna Convention provides for "rebus sic stantibus" (things thus standing) under which, in the absence of a withdrawal clause, a state cannot unilaterally withdraw UN membership unless substantial and radical "unforeseen change in circumstances" has made UN membership moot. If the "unforeseen change" is caused by the member state trying to leave UN, then it cannot stand as grounds for leaving the organization.

The only country to seriously attempt UN withdrawal was Indonesia in 1965. Indonesian President Sukarno withdrew the country after their then-enemy Malaysia was awarded a seat in the Security Council. The Secretary-General noted their decision, but did not remove Indonesia from the roster of its members. One year later, Sukarno was overthrown in a coup and Indonesia resumed full cooperation with the UN.

During this time, Indonesia established CONEFO—a rival international organization with China, North Vietnam and North Korea as its members. The organization was largely ignored and was dissolved after a year. In 2016, Duterte threatens to do exactly the same.

In the worst case scenario, this is what'll likely happen: Duterte announces UN withdrawal; the General Assembly notes this but UN will continue to operate in the country as usual; Duterte stops sending financial contributions to UN annual budget which means we lose our GA vote (but will remain a member); after a while, the Philippines will return to the UN as soon as Duterte's hissy fit (or his term) ends...

...or he ends up deposed just like that autocratic Indonesian president who attempted to withdraw his country from the UN, or maybe that autocratic Thai prime minister who started a failed war on drugs that killed thousands of innocents.

Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

THE POINT BEING...

The idea here is simple. There is indeed no way to have a country leaving the United Nations. Although the organization itself is not perfect and is not fulfilling to its duties as what the president suggests, it still have contributed a lot of things that make lives better. 

From Yolanda to Zamboanga Siege, or Korean War to the different conflicts in Africa, UN did good things a lot. Furthermore, attaining sovereignty in front of UN is good for instilling nationalism. But threatening the organization by withdrawing out is like biting a hand who gives. It will subject the nation into doom, and there is no strength of nationalism will protect it, unless such nation is self-sufficient where the Philippines is indeed not such a country for a start. 

In lay man's term, President Duterte must research first before uttering any words out of his mouth, or it will definitely result of taking such words back, in which it hampers firmness of him as a speaker [link here].

If he will just focus on his job eliminating drug dealers and corrupt officials, and as well giving a good explanation so as to why such things took place, the better.

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