Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte quits International Criminal Court
The ICC last month started a preliminary examination to establish whether crimes against humanity may have taken place during Duterte’s deadly war on drugs
The Philippines said on Wednesday it is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC) due to what President Rodrigo Duterte called “outrageous” attacks by UN officials and violations of due process by the ICC.
The decision marks an about-face by Duterte, who initially welcomed a preliminary examination by the International Criminal Court, announced last month, into a complaint filed by a Philippine lawyer accusing the president and top officials of crimes against humanity during a deadly war on drugs.
A 15-page statement, dated March 13 and not signed by Duterte, said the withdrawal from the ICC’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, was “effective immediately”.
That was confirmed separately by Duterte’s spokesman and his legal counsel, who both said the ICC’s examination was part of a plot by the president’s enemies.
Duterte’s statement said the withdrawal was because of “baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks” by UN officials, and what he said was an attempt by the ICC prosecutor to seek jurisdiction over him “in violation of due process and presumption of innocence”.