Duterte urges other nations to quit ICC

MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday urged other nations to follow his move to quit the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is examining his deadly drug war.

Duterte lashed out at the war crimes tribunal days after his government notified the United Nations of his move to withdraw the Philippines from the Rome Statute which set up the court.

“I will convince everybody now who (is) under the treaty: get out, get out. It is rude,” he said in a speech to Philippine Military Academy graduates.

“It is not a document that was prepared by anybody. It’s an EU-sponsored (treaty),” he added, as he criticised the court for allegedly going after “blacks”.

The Hague-based ICC said last month it was launching a “preliminary examination” of Duterte’s anti-drug crackdown that has prompted international concern.

Duterte, 72, won elections in mid-2016 vowing to launch a drug war in which tens of thousands of people would die.

Police say they have killed 4,100 drug suspects, while rights groups claim the toll is three times higher.

The Philippines on Thursday told the UN it was withdrawing from the ICC, triggering warnings from a top tribunal official that it would harm global efforts to end impunity for the world’s worst crimes.

Officially quitting the court requires a year’s notice and does not stop the ICC from continuing its examination on the killings.

However, Duterte yesterday insisted the ICC could not prosecute him since the treaty was not published locally, in violation of domestic laws.

“That treaty, if you read it, it’s all bull,” Duterte said.

He added that the ICC was part of efforts of “white idiots in the EU” to “atone” for wrongdoings in Africa and the Middle East. – AFP