ICC: Consular visits to detainees have their consent

MANILA, Philippines — The International Criminal Court has clarified that consular visits to detainees require the detainee’s consent, after Vice President Sara Duterte publicly accused Philippine embassy officials of breaching rules in checking on her father in the ICC detention center.

ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah told reporters on Wednesday, September 24, that the court acts “in accordance with the ICC Rome Statute and relevant applicable rules” and follows international standards for detainees, including access to consular representatives.

“Such visits, if any, are strictly conducted with the approval or at the request of the person in detention,” the spokesperson said, without referring to Duterte directly.

The Department of Foreign Affairs separately confirmed that the Philippine embassy personnel visited the former president at the ICC detention facility to conduct a welfare check.

“Officials from the Philippine Embassy in The Hague visited former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte … to conduct a welfare check. This is in line with its functions under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and relevant Philippine laws to protect the welfare of all Filipinos,” the DFA said.

It added that such visits are “no different from what the DFA does for other Filipino citizens who are in detention abroad.”

The vice president, in a statement released by her office earlier on Wednesday, alleged that embassy officials “abused” ICC visitation rules and placed her father “in imminent danger.” She claimed the visit was carried out under “false pretenses” and accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of ordering it.

“If such sham ‘welfare checks’ are allowed to continue, then the ICC and the Philippine Government must be prepared to answer, fully and directly, for any harm that comes to Former President Duterte — including, should the worst happen, his death in custody,” she said.

Duterte also argued that her father does not need consular monitoring, saying relatives had been visiting him in detention “almost every day” since March to ensure his well-being.

Similarly, former president Rodrigo Duterte’s lawyer Nicholas Kaufman claimed the latest consular visit to the detained former president was not coordinated with the defense, unlike previous ones.

In a statement, Kaufman called the visit a “gross invasion of privacy" and said it appeared timed to gather intelligence on Rodrigo’s medical condition after the defense sought an indefinite adjournment of proceedings.

Kaufman said they are still obtaining information and weighing legal steps in response.

Consular help

This is not the first time the embassy has extended consular assistance to the former president.

Upon the elder Duterte's arrival in The Hague in March, the embassy provided him with winter clothing, changes of clothes, and care packages appropriate for the winter. Similar provisions were extended to his delegation and flight crew. 

The embassy also secured temporary visas for Rodrigo's companions, including a two-day visa for his nurse and aide, and a 15-day visa for former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

This was when the former president was given names and contact numbers of embassy officials "who can be reached by mobile phone for any consular assistance that he may need," according to an embassy statement in March. 

A day after he was transferred to ICC custody, the former president, on March 13, requested a visit by consular officials and spoke to a consular officer on the phone to inform them that he had received medical care and was "generally fine."