ICC vows impartial review
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has assured President Duterte of an independent and impartial “examination” of extrajudicial killings allegedly arising from his war on drugs.
In a statement, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda stressed the examination would be done with “full independence and impartiality in accordance with its mandate and the applicable legal instruments of the court.”
She said the ICC would analyze crimes allegedly committed by the Duterte administration since July 1, 2016 in the context of his war on drugs.
“As we do, we hope to count
on the full engagement of the relevant national authorities in the Philippines and Venezuela,” she said.
“Specifically, it has been alleged that since July 2016, thousands of persons have been killed for reasons related to their alleged involvement in illegal drug use or dealing,” Bensouda said.
“While some of such killings have reportedly occurred in the context of clashes between or within gangs, it is alleged that many of the reported incidents involved extrajudicial killings in the course of police anti-drug operations,” she said.
Bensouda clarified that the examination is not an investigation but “a process of examining the information available in order to reach a fully informed determination on whether there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation pursuant to the criteria established by the Rome Statute.” In 2011, the Philippines became a state party to the Rome Statute of the ICC.
“There are no statutory timelines on the length of a preliminary examination. Depending on the facts and circumstances of each situation, I will decide whether to initiate an investigation, subject to judicial review as appropriate; continue to collect information to establish a sufficient factual and legal basis to render a determination; or decline to initiate an investigation if there is no reasonable basis to proceed,” she added.
The ICC has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed in state parties.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch welcomed yesterday ICC’s inquiry, saying it is “a rebuke of the Philippine government’s campaign of denial and distraction seemingly designed to deflect growing evidence of extrajudicial executions that Duterte and senior government officials have incited and instigated.”
Param-Preet Singh, associate director of HRW’s international justice program, said ICC’s move “should spur efforts by United Nations member countries to push back against Duterte’s efforts to legitimize his bloody drug war.”
“Such an investigation would send the message that UN member countries strongly support justice in the Philippines and put further pressure on the Duterte government to stop the killings and to cooperate with efforts to hold those responsible to account,” she stressed.
The ICC move was in response to a communication filed last year by Jude Sabio, lawyer of self-confessed former Davao City death squad member Edgar Matobato. Sabio said he wanted Duterte and some of his officials prosecuted and charged with crimes against humanity for the “mass murder” of suspected drug offenders and other lawbreakers.