ICC resumes investigation into Duterte drug war killings
RAPPLERJan 27, 2023
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday announced it is reopening its investigation into “crimes against humanity” in the Philippines that allegedly occurred during former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.
Prosecutor Karim Khan last year asked ICC judges for permission to reactivate his investigation into thousands of deaths related to the drug war between November 2011 and March 2019. More than 6K drug suspects have been killed according to government sources, but activist groups believe the death toll is much greater.
The ICC is 100% correct to reopen its investigation into the brutal drug war. The Duterte and Marcos administrations failed to submit proof they were willing to genuinely investigate the killings. The ICC must take over this probe.
The ICC is overstepping its bounds and undermining the Philippines’ sovereignty. The ICC can only conduct proceedings in states without a functioning government, and the Philippines is not a country where the ICC can rightfully do so. The Philippines’ domestic investigative and judicial processes should take precedence in any probe.