ICC junks PH government plea to stop probe into Duterte ‘drug war’

‘MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 18 July) — The International Criminal Court (ICC) appeals judges on Tuesday rejected the Philippine government’s appeal to stop the investigation of the ICC Office of the Prosecutor into the “drug war” killings in the country.

The decision means the ICC can now resume its investigation into possible crimes against humanity in the prosecution of the bloody campaign against illegal drugs during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

It affirmed the earlier decision of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber to allow Prosecutor Karim Khan to continue with his investigation, as well as bars the Philippines from filing further appeal.

Philippine officials have sought to block the investigation, arguing that national authorities were investigating, or had already investigated, alleged murders related to the deadly campaign against illegal drugs during the Duterte administration.

Official statistics placed the number of “drug war” deaths at over 6,000. But human rights groups said that up to 30,000 may have been killed by law enforcers in furtherance of a State policy and can therefore be considered crimes against humanity.

Only two cases have so far resulted in the convictions of law enforcers involved in the campaign against illegal drugs — the murder of 17-year-old Kian Delos Santos, and of 19-year-old Carl Arnaiz and 14-year-old Reynaldo “Kulot” de Guzman.

Philippine officials added that the ICC no longer has jurisdiction over the Philippines, as the country had withdrawn from the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the court in 2002.

For his part, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called the investigation “a threat to our sovereignty.”

As a senator in 2011, Marcos voted for the treaty.

Based on Article 127-2 of the Rome Statute, the ICC retains jurisdiction over cases that happened from the time the country became a State Party to the Statute until its withdrawal became effective.

The period over which the ICC still has jurisdiction starts from Nov. 1, 2011, the date the treaty went into effect in the Philippines, until 16 March 2019, a year after the formal notice of withdrawal was received by the United Nations.

Reacting to the ICC decision, Bryony Lau, Deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said: “The ICC appeals judges’ ruling marks the next step toward justice for victims of ‘drug war’ killings and their families. The Marcos administration should back up its stated commitment to human rights and the fight against impunity by following through on its international legal obligation to cooperate with the court’s investigation.” (H. Marcos C. Mordeno / MindaNews)

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