Philippines leaves ‘non-existent’ International Criminal Court over drug war inquiry
- ‘As far as we are concerned, this tribunal is non-existent and its actions a futile exercise,’ President Duterte’s spokesman said of beleaguered court
The Philippines was poised to officially quit the International Criminal Court on Sunday, though the beleaguered tribunal has pledged to pursue its examination of possible crimes in the government’s deadly drug war.
Manila’s withdrawal is to become final a year after it told the United Nations it was leaving the world’s only permanent war crimes tribunal, the second nation to do so.
“The secretary general … informed all concerned states that the withdrawal will take effect for the Philippines on 17 March,” UN spokeswoman Eri Kaneko said on Friday.
The Philippine government and the ICC on Sunday had yet to comment on the withdrawal.
The departure of the Philippines follows the court being hit in recent years by high-profile acquittals and moves by several nations to drop out.
Manila moved to quit after the body launched a preliminary examination in 2018 into President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug crackdown that has killed thousands.
However, Duterte’s spokesman said on Sunday the nation never legally joined the treaty that underpins the court, a reference to an argument the Philippines did not complete all the steps to formalise its adoption.