Credit: Wikipedia public domain /    Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte 

By Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

The Philippines is pulling out of the International Criminal Court after firebrand President Rodrigo Duterte denounced The Hague-based war tribunal as a part of “white idiots in the EU” who are seeking to “atone” for their past actions. The Philippines’ exit from the war tribunal comes a year after it submitted notice of its withdrawal, which followed an ICC announcement that the country was under preliminary examination for thousands of killings since Duterte rose to the presidency in 2016. Duterte is being probed for suspected crimes against humanity in the Philippines’ so-called “war on drugs.” Some observers say Duterte’s racial tirade against the ICC and his country’s withdrawal is an attempt by him to escape accountability for alleged war crimes. Other say the ICC is under a cloud at the moment with the recent high-profile acquittals of suspects accused of committing war crimes.  The ICC’s Appeal judges in June 2018 overturned ex-DR Congo VP Jean-Pierre Bemba’s 2016 conviction, when he was found guilty of two counts of crimes against humanity and three counts of war crimes.  And in January 2019, ICC judges acquitted former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo of all war crime charges, along with his right-hand man, Charles Blé Goudé.

ICC Regrets Philippines’ Withdrawal from The Hague-Based War Tribunal

“I sincerely hope that the departure of the Philippines from the Rome Statute is only temporary and that it will re-join the Rome Statute family in the future. Encouraging universal adherence to the Rome Statute is key in strengthening our collective efforts to promote accountability for atrocity crimes and the rule of law. The ICC relies on the continued support of the international community to ensure its effectiveness in the fight against impunity”.

President of the Assembly of States Parties, O-Gon Kwon (Republic of Korea) said in a statement.  The Assembly of States Parties is the management oversight and legislative body of the ICC. It is comprised of representatives of all States that have ratified and acceded to the Rome Statute. President Kwon was elected President of the Assembly for a three-year mandate in December 2017

credit: icc/cpi / Headquarters of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.

ICC to continue examination of the Philippines despite the country leaving The Hague-based tribunal

“A withdrawal has no impact on on-going proceedings or any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective; nor on the status of any judge already serving at the Court,” ICC statement Mar. 20, 2018.

According to the ICC, withdrawing from the Rome Statute is a sovereign decision, which is subject to the provisions of article 127 of that Statute. A withdrawal becomes effective one year after the deposit of notice of withdrawal to the United Nations Secretary-General.

Duterte, however, insists the ICC has no authority to bring a case against him as the treaty is in violation of domestic laws. The ICC was part of efforts of “white idiots in the EU” to “atone” for wrongdoings in Africa and the Middle East, he said.

“These people when they went to Africa, they killed the Arabs. … It is really an atonement for their sins. And then they run after either the blacks, when there are so many problems, but they still meddle,”

President Duterte said in 2018. 

The Philippines became the second nation to leave the ICC, following Burundi in October 2017. Gambia and South Africa followed suit both nations later reversed their decisions and have since rejoined ICC.