International Criminal Court: Philippines withdrawal won’t stop probe

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ move to withdraw from the Rome Statute will not stop the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s “preliminary examination” of the human rights situation in the country where thousands have been killed since the launch of President Duterte’s war on illegal drugs.

In a statement sent to The STAR, the ICC said a withdrawal would have no impact on the ongoing proceedings or any matter already under consideration by the court prior to the effectivity of a withdrawal.

Based on the Rome Statute that created the ICC, the withdrawal of a country would become effective one year after the deposit of a notice with the United Nations Secretary General.

The Philippines submitted the notice of withdrawal to the UN headquarters in New York on Friday.

In a separate statement, the office of ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda also said it will continue with the preliminary examination of the situation in the Philippines.

“In the event of a withdrawal from the ICC, this decision will therefore not affect the continuation of the preliminary examination process,” read the statement released by CNN Philippines.

“Nor does it affect the continuing obligation of the State concerned to cooperate with the Court in relation to an investigation initiated before the withdrawal came into effect,” it added.

The website of the ICC prosecutor showed that the preliminary examination – announced on Feb. 8 – is ongoing.  

“Specifically, it has been alleged that since July 1, 2016, thousands of persons have been killed for reasons related to their alleged involvement in illegal drug use or dealing,” said the ICC prosecutor.

“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 extra-judicial killings in the course of police anti-drug operations,” it added.

On Friday, South Korea’s O-Gon Kwon – president of the Assembly of States Parties that serves as oversight of the ICC and the Office of the Prosecutor – urged the Philippines to reconsider the withdrawal.

“I regret this development. A State Party withdrawing from the Rome Statute would negatively impact our collective efforts towards fighting impunity,” he said.

“The ICC needs the strong support of the international community to ensure its effectiveness. I encourage the Philippines to remain as a party to the Rome Statute,” he added.

Kwon urged the Philippine government to engage in dialogue and voice its concerns before the assembly.

‘Regrettable’

The ICC said the decision of any party to withdraw from the Rome Statute is regrettable as it may set back efforts to ensure accountability for atrocious crimes committed worldwide.

“The Court encourages the Philippines to not follow through with the reported intention to withdraw, as it is an important State Party to the Rome Statute, and as such an integral part of the international criminal justice system aimed at ending impunity for and helping prevent the gravest crimes under international law,” it said.

“The membership of the Philippines in the system is essential for the aspirations toward universal ratification of the Rome Statute and strengthening the international rule of law,” added the ICC.

It also stressed the significance of participation of every country in efforts to address atrocity crimes and deliver justice to victims across the world.

“The ICC, as an independent permanent judicial institution, has given a voice to countless victims of atrocity crimes such as the use of child soldiers, rape and other forms of sexual violence in conflict, torture, willful killing and the destruction of cultural property,” it said.

“Any act that may set back the global movement towards greater accountability for atrocity crimes and the international rule of law is, therefore, regrettable,” it added.

Malacañang claimed that Bensouda violated the provisions of the Rome Statute, particularly the principle of complementarity, when she initiated the preliminary examination.

But according to the ICC website, the preliminary examination is initiated to determine if there is reasonable basis to initiate an investigation.

“Preliminary examinations also provide an opportunity to the Office of the Prosecutor to encourage national authorities to fulfill their primary responsibility to carry out national investigations and prosecutions themselves,” it said.

“In applying the Rome Statute criteria, should the Office of the Prosecutor determine it needs to open an investigation, it will do so without hesitation. Political considerations never form part of the Office’s decision making,” the ICC added.

Dismissal seen

Before the ICC gets out of the picture completely, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said he expects it to dismiss the complaint filed against Duterte.

“My fearless forecast here is that it will be dismissed. These (allegations against Duterte) are not in the same level as crimes against humanity and genocide,” he added.

Pimentel reiterated his support for the decision of Duterte to withdraw the Philippines’ ratification of the Rome Statute, saying administration foes are using it as a weapon.

Speaking over radio dwIZ, Pimentel said he now understands why African nations felt singled out by the ICC.

“This is clearly a domestic issue, a law enforcement issue related to our anti-drug laws. So what is actually happening here? We are not yet hopeless. We have the Senate, the ombudsman, the Sandiganbayan, Civil Service, the Napolcom, and yet the ICC entertained the complaint,” Pimentel said.

He noted that politician-allies of a defeated presidential candidate were behind the filing of the complaint against Duterte.

Lawyer Jude Sabio filed the original complaint while Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Magdalo party list Rep. Gary Alejano filed supplemental complaints.

Sabio used to represent self-confessed Davao Death Squad member Edgar Matobato, who accused Duterte of ordering the killing of thousands of suspected criminals when he was still mayor of Davao City.

Pimentel pointed out that the ICC was established to handle the most heinous of crimes such as crimes against humanity and genocide and yet they entertained the case against Duterte. “The ICC, as it turns out, could be used for politics,” he said.

He also explained that the decision of the President to abandon the Rome Statute was not intended to stop the preliminary examination of the ICC.

“Let them also pay the price so we’ll withdraw from that for now,” Pimentel said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Leila de Lima slammed presidential spokesman Harry Roque for saying there would be an avalanche of desertion from the ICC after the Philippines decided to withdraw.

De Lima said she knows of only three African nations that had tried to leave the ICC and only one, Burundi, was able to do so.

She noted that Gambia, under former president Yahya Jammeh, and South Africa, under former president Jacob Zuma, had tried but failed to withdraw from the ICC. The two have since been removed from office.

“What is clear is that the heads of state who tried to withdraw from the ICC are those who fear prosecution and trial at the ICC for widespread human rights violations during their reign,” De Lima said.

“The only country that the Philippines has for company in leaving the ICC now is Burundi, after Gambia rejoined the ICC and South Africa’s High Court nullified Zuma’s withdrawal. Yes, the Philippines is now Asia’s own Burundi, after the Duterte government announced its withdrawal from the ICC,” she added.– With Paolo Romero