DAVAO CITY – The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced it is set to reopen an investigation into killings and other suspected human rights abuses during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called “war on drugs,” according to Al Jazeera reports.
It said ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan is seeking to
reopen the probe seven months after the international court suspended its
investigation into Duterte’s drugs war in November at the Philippines’ request.
Khan said
the Philippines had filed a deferral
request through its ambassador in the Netherlands, Eduardo
Malaya. “The prosecution has temporarily suspended its investigative activities
while it assesses the scope and effect of the deferral request,” he said. “The
prosecution will, in the coming days, request additional information from the
Philippines under rule 53 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. Such
additional information is necessary for the prosecution to assess the scope and
effect of the deferral request.”
In the letter, Malaya
had requested the ICC for a deferral, saying his country was “keen on ensuring
the successful prosecution of cases that have been filed, or may be filed in
court, against erring Philippine National Police members and others within its
jurisdiction”.
Malaya cited an
ongoing domestic review of 52 drug raids carried out between 2016 and 2021,
which signalled “the start of the (DOJ’s) review of the over 6,000
administrative cases” pending internal police investigation.
“After a careful and thorough review of all the
information provided by the Philippines, as well as other information available
publicly…I have concluded that the deferral requested by the Philippines is not
warranted, and that the investigation should resume as quickly as possible,”
Khan said in a statement released June 24.
“I have informed the Philippine authorities of my
intention to file today’s application,” Khan said. “In my letter, I made clear
– and I repeat here now – that I remain ready and willing to continue the
productive dialogue we have had since November 2021, and to explore ways in
which, moving forward, we can effectively cooperate to deliver justice to
victims in the Philippines.”
Duterte ran for president in 2016 on a single issue
of fighting crime in the Philippines.
After taking office on June 30, 2016, Duterte immediately launched his deadly campaign against
drugs, which was described by the country’s Catholic leaders as a “reign of
terror”.
During his campaign and later on as president, he
repeatedly urged police to “kill” drug suspects. A report from the United
Nations last year found thousands of people had been killed in
anti-drug operations.
According to Philippine government data released in June 2021, at
least 6,117 suspected drug dealers had been killed in police encounters as of
April 2021. Human rights groups and activists said the number could be as high
as 30,000.
Duterte pulled the Philippines out of the ICC in
2018 and has repeatedly said his government will not cooperate with any
investigation. The ICC has jurisdiction to investigate crimes committed
while the country was a member and up until 2019.
Senator Leila
de Lima has welcomed Khan’s decision to reopen the investigation and said: “I
welcome with great relief and optimism the decision of the Office of the
Prosecutor (OTP) of the ICC to request the latter to lift the suspension on the
preliminary investigation of the Philippine situation.”
“The OTP has
seen through the ruse that the so-called DOJ (Department of Justice)
investigation is, calling it a mere desk investigation that has not amounted to
anything substantial to unearth the principals behind the Duterte government’s
EJK (extrajudicial killings) policy and such a tack is not at all mirrored in
the DOJ’s investigation as it has clearly spared the top perpetrators.”
The international group Human Rights Watch branded the
ICC investigation as a “booster shot” for accountability.
“The ICC prosecutor’s request to resume the investigation
into alleged crimes against humanity in the Philippine government’s drug war is
a booster shot for accountability. The government has not been serious about
justice for these crimes while the victims’ families grieve without redress and
those responsible face no consequences,” said Maria Elena Vignoli, Senior
Counsel, International Justice Program, Human Rights Watch. (Al Jazeera, Mindanao Examiner)
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