Duterte withdraws from International Criminal Court

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte will withdraw the country from the International Criminal Court. Duterte’s decision came after the court launched a preliminary crimes against humanity inquiry into Duterte’s ‘War on Drugs’.

The inquiry will focus on allegations that stem from July 1, 2016 and will include allegations of “extrajudicial killings” by the police during anti-drug operations.

The victims under Duterte’s presidency number among the thousands. The government claims 4,000 have been killed, but estimates from NGOs and other news organizations place the number around 12,000 according to Carlos Conde, a Philippines researcher with Human Rights Watch.

In its official letter withdrawing from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Philippines delegation to the UN claims “The Government remains resolute in effecting its principal responsibility to ensure the long-term safety of the nation in order to promote inclusive national development and secure a decent and dignified life for all”.

Duterte says that the Philippines never properly entered into the Rome Statute as the statute was never published in the country’s official gazette or any general circulation newspaper in the Philippines. The Presidential Communications office also called the ICC investigation a “violation of the principle of complementarity”, where the ICC can only prosecute crimes when local courts are unable or unwilling.

The ICC says the withdrawal will not impact the Court’s investigation and “the ICC retains its jurisdiction over crimes committed during the time in which the State was party to the Statute and may exercise this jurisdiction over these crimes even after the withdrawal becomes effective”