ICC judges question legitimacy of the Philippines’ ‘war on drugs’, authorise investigation

In a written decision, the judges said killings committed across the Philippines as part of the war on drugs appear to amount to a crime against humanity

The anti-drugs campaign of President Rodrigo Duterte ‘cannot be seen as a legitimate law enforcement operation’, the judges said

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Police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency officials inspect seized narcotics after a drugs bust. Photo: Philippine National Police-Public Information Office via AFP

Published: 11:21pm, 15 Sep 2021Updated: 11:21pm, 15 Sep 2021

International Criminal Court judges on Wednesday authorised an investigation into the Philippines’ deadly “war on drugs” campaign, saying the crackdown “cannot be seen as a legitimate law enforcement operation”.

The court’s former prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, sought permission from judges earlier this year to investigate the Philippine government’s campaign.

She said that a preliminary investigation she began in February 2018 found “a reasonable basis to believe that the crime against humanity of murder has been committed” in the Philippines between July 1, 2016 and March 16, 2019, the date the Philippines withdrew from the court.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has withdrawn his country from the International Criminal Court. Photo: AP

In a written decision, judges who considered Bensouda’s request found a “reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation” into killings committed throughout the Philippines as part of the war on drugs, saying they appear to amount to a crime against humanity under the court’s founding statute.

The court said in a statement that the judges ruled that “based on the facts as they emerge at the present stage and subject to proper investigation and further analysis, the so-called war on drugs campaign cannot be seen as a legitimate law enforcement operation, and the killings neither as legitimate nor as mere excesses in an otherwise legitimate operation.”