Philippines tells UN it will quit International Criminal Court
Officials slam world body, accusing it of ‘weaponising’ human rights as part of a campaign to misinform the international community
The Philippines said on Friday it had given official notice to exit the treaty that created the International Criminal Court, which is examining President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.
The move comes days after Duterte announced his nation would quit the court over its preliminary inquiry launched last month into allegations his crackdown on narcotics amounts to crimes against humanity.
Philippine police say they have killed roughly 4,000 suspects who fought back during arrest, but rights groups claim the actual number is three times higher and accuse the authorities of murder.
On Thursday the Philippines said in a letter to the United Nations, which oversaw negotiations to found the court, that it was pulling out of the Rome Statute.
“The decision to withdraw is the Philippines’ principled stand against those who would politicise and weaponise human rights,” the letter said.
Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, speaking from Manila, said the Philippines was quitting due to “the well-orchestrated campaign to mislead the international community, to crucify President Duterte … by distorting the human rights situation in the country”.