ICC seeks full investigation into Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’
- The outgoing ICC chief prosecutor said she had ‘reasonable basis to believe that the crime against humanity of murder has been committed’
- Manila pulled out of the ICC in 2019 after a preliminary examination into Duterte’s drug crackdown
Fatou Bensouda is asking judges at the world’s only permanent war crimes court to authorise a probe into allegations that police unlawfully killed as many as tens of thousands of civilians between 2016 and 2019.
“I announce that the preliminary examination into the situation in the Republic of the Philippines has concluded and that I have requested judicial authorisation to proceed with an investigation,” Fatou Bensouda said in a statement.
“I have determined that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the crime against humanity of murder has been committed … in the context of the government of Philippines ‘war on drugs’ campaign,” she said.
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Duterte’s spokesman on Tuesday said he would not cooperate with the ICC’s planned investigation, while families of the victims cheered the move.
Normita Lopez, whose son was a victim of the anti-drugs campaign, said she could not contain her happiness when she learned about the ICC prosecutor’s request to open a full investigation into the killings.