Duterte threatens to copy Russia’s ICC exit
Davao: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to follow in Russia’s footsteps and pull his country out of the International Criminal Court (ICC), incensed by foreign criticism of his deadly drug war.
Russia formally withdrew its signature to the ICC’s founding Rome Statute on Wednesday, calling the tribunal’s work “onesided and inefficient”.
Speaking in his hometown of Davao city in the southern Philippines shortly before flying to Peru for a regional summit yesterday, Duterte said: “They (Russians) may have thought that the International Criminal Court is (useless), so they withdrew their membership.”
“I might follow. Why? Because these shameless bullies only picked on small countries like us.”
The Philippines is among 124 countries that are members of the United Nationsbacked ICC, the world’s only permanent war crimes court.
Duterte also repeated an earlier threat to pull the Philippines out of the UN, saying the world body had failed to stop wars that had killed “thousands” of women and children.
“You know if China and Russia would decide to create a new order, I will be the first to join,” he added.
Duterte won May elections in a landslide after vowing an unprecedented crackdown on illegal drugs and killing tens of thousands of drug dealers.
More than 4,000 people have been killed since he took office on June 30. About 1,800 were shot dead by police and about 2,600 others were killed by unidentified attackers, according to official statistics.
The killings have drawn criticism from Manila’s key defence ally the United States as well as the UN.
Ahead of the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima yesterday, Duterte warned his international counterparts not to lecture him on human rights.
“They will really get it from me, and I will lecture them on the finer points of civilisation,” he said.
“You threaten us as if we are your labourers and threaten to have me jailed. Me, go to jail? You children of ****** I will take you all down with me.” — AFP