ICC judges in September approved an investigation into the operation that killed thousands of suspected drug peddlers.
International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan has suspended an investigation into Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s suspected rights abuses during his drug crackdown, documents released Friday showed.
ICC judges in September approved an investigation into the operation that killed thousands of suspected drug peddlers. Activists say many people have been executed by law enforcement agencies with the tacit support of the president.
Philippine officials say the killings were done in self-defense and that the ICC has no right to interfere.
According to court documents, Mr Khan wrote that Manila had filed an adjournment request on 10 November. Governments can ask the ICC to adjourn a case if they are pursuing their investigation and trial for similar acts.
“The prosecution has temporarily suspended its investigative activities while it assesses the scope and impact of the deferred request,” Mr Khan wrote, adding that he would seek additional information from the Philippines.
The Duterte government has repeatedly stated that it will not cooperate with the ICC. Mr Duterte pulled the Philippines out of the ICC in 2018, but the court has jurisdiction to investigate offenses committed while Manila was a member as of 2019 and above.
“There is no inconsistency in the request for a suspension of action,” said Salvador Panelo, Duterte’s chief legal counsel. Reuters on Saturday, without elaboration. Mr Duterte (76) has stated that the ICC has no right to impeach him.
A group of Philippine lawyers called on the ICC not to cast a ray of hope for the families of drug-war victims.
The National Union of People’s Lawyers, which represents the families of some of the victims, said in a statement: “We call on the ICC to no longer allow itself to be swayed by the claims being made by the Duterte administration.”
The Philippine justice system is “extremely slow and unavailable to most poor and unrepresented victims”, it said.
Human Rights Watch said the government’s claim that existing domestic systems provide justice to citizens was absurd. Its Asia director Brad Adam said in a statement, “Hopefully the ICC sees through this move that it is.”
The ICC’s decision is a boost for Mr Duterte, who this week starts running for Senate in elections next year. He is barred by the Constitution from being re-elected as President.
“It will certainly provide some respite in the face of harsh elections,” said political analyst Ramon Caspiel, vice president of consulting and research firm Novo Trends PH. Reuters“However, it may not enable (them) to do more after the election, especially if the incoming government chooses to cooperate with the ICC process.”
In its nearly two decades of existence, the ICC has convicted all African militia leaders from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali and Uganda with five counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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