Human rights defenders in the Philippines have cheered the United Nations’ decision to investigate mass killings committed during President Rodrigo Duterte ’s “war on drugs”, even as the country’s foreign ministry has slammed the decision and warned of “far-reaching consequences” . Ephraim Cortes, the Secretary General of the National Union of Lawyers, said he was heartened that Filipinos would get accountability over “the spate of killings”. Last month, a three-year-old child was shot in the head after her father, a suspected drug dealer, used her as a shield in a police raid in Manila. Duterte’s drug war is ‘large-scale murdering enterprise’ says Amnesty “This is the first time an investigation [will take place] in a country where there’s no civil war; the UN will intervene and investigate the killings,” Cortes said. Duterte’s government says police have killed about 6,600 people in shoot-outs with suspected drug dealers since he was elected in 2016 on a platform of crushing crime. Activists dispute the official figure, saying the toll is at least 27,000. On Thursday, the first UN resolution on the Philippines , led by Iceland, was adopted by a vote of 18 countries in favour, 14 against, including China, and 15 abstentions, including Japan. Philippine Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo criticised the UN move as an insult to Filipinos who have expressed satisfaction with Duterte’s leadership in local surveys. Discovery of meth addict’s body raises questions about Duterte’s drug war “The resolution is grotesquely one-sided, outrageously narrow, and maliciously partisan. It reeks of nauseating politics completely devoid of respect for the sovereignty of our country, even as it is bereft of the gruesome realities of the drug menace in the country,” Panelo said. “The overwhelming majority of the Filipino electorate... are grossly and thoroughly insulted by the resolution that echoes such falsities.” The foreign ministry said the UN resolution was “detached from the truth”. “The Philippines rejects this resolution. It cannot, in good conscience, abide by it. We will not accept a politically partisan and one-sided resolution, so detached from the truth on the ground,” said Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jnr in a statement. He later said on Twitter: “Actually no effect but for those who voted to insult us, the consequences will be far-reaching.” Philippine toddler’s death during drug raid leads to suspension of 20 police officers Duterte on Friday took a swipe at Iceland for spearheading the UN resolution, saying it was a nation made entirely of ice, with no understanding of his country’s problems. “What is the problem of Iceland? Ice only. That is your problem. You have too much ice and there is no clear day and night there,” he said in a speech to corrections department officials. “So you can understand why there is no crime, no policeman either, and they just go about eating ice,” he said. “They don’t understand the social, economic, political problems of the Philippines.” Philippine Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, a former police general who implemented the early stage of Duterte’s drug war, challenged the UN to investigate the alleged tens of thousands of drug-related deaths under the Duterte administration not as a “lump” of cases but “one by one”, and claimed he was not afraid of being investigated. “You come here and cut my head off, if this is state-sponsored. They can investigate provided they have an open mind. They can investigate one by one,” he said. Last week, Dela Rosa defended a police raid that led to the death of a three-year-old girl in June. “S*** happens during operations. I will admit to you that in the course of operations, there are things that happen … there will be collateral damage,” he told reporters. Under the resolution, UN human rights commissioner Michelle Bachelet will present her findings to the council in June 2020, before the UN decides on the next steps. Wilnor Papa, human rights officer of Amnesty International in the Philippines, urged the central government to cooperate with investigators. He said activists originally hoped the UN would demand a formal “inquiry”, but that a report was also a positive development. Carlos Conde, a researcher for Human Rights Watch in Manila, said: “At this point when the killings continue to happen on a daily basis, this will mean a lot to the families of the most marginalised section of our society who are the main victims of this brutality. This brings them hope – and that is all that matters for now.” Philippine drug war deaths pile up as Duterte admits losing control Agnes Callamard, the UN Special Rapporteur on summary executions, described the council’s resolution as a victory. “Finally, now we need action. We need an end to the war on drugs. We need a human rights approach to fighting crime. We need protection for defenders, indigenous, land and environmental activists. We need an investigation into all the killings. We need accountability,” Callamard said. At the Hague-based International Criminal Court, Duterte, 74, is facing two murder complaints. The first was filed by a former policeman and a self-confessed assassin who alleged that Duterte ordered the killings of criminals and opponents when he was the long-time mayor of Davao city in the south. The second was filed by relatives of eight people killed in the drug war. Additional reporting by Reuters Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook .