INTERNATIONAL Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan has requested the resumption of the investigation on the alleged crimes against humanity in the country in relation to President Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdown on illegal drugs.
Khan said he filed the request before the pre-trial chamber I of the ICC.
On June 14, 2021, then outgoing ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda asked ICC judges for approval for the conduct of an official investigation into the alleged crime against humanity of murder amid Duterte’s drug war.
Duterte had repeatedly said that the country will not participate in any of the probes, noting that the judicial system in the country is working and that there is no need for an international court to interfere.
The ICC said it has received “overwhelming” support from the victims of the drug war after they submitted their representations to provide their views, concerns and expectations over the possible conduct of the investigation.
The chamber authorized Khan’s office to conduct an investigation in September, but they deferred the probe in November following the request of the Philippines on the basis that national authorities were investigating, or had already investigated the cases.
Khan said the national government also complied with his request for proof that there is an ongoing investigation into the killings related to the drug war.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said it has conducted a probe on the more than 350 cases of drug war-related deaths in the country.
It also released the matrix on 52 cases where operational irregularities on the part of the police were found.
Khan said that after a thorough review of the information provided by the Philippines as well as other information available publicly, provided by third parties, or already in their collection, he concluded that the deferral requested by the Philippines is not warranted and that the investigation should resume as quickly as possible.
“The majority of the information provided by the Philippine Government relates to administrative and other non-penal processes and proceedings which do not seek to establish criminal responsibility, and therefore cannot warrant deferral of the ICC’s criminal investigation,” he said in a statement.
“The various proceedings referenced by the Philippines also fail to sufficiently mirror the authorized ICC investigation, as required by articles 17 and 18 of the Rome Statute, because the Philippines has not asserted that it is investigating any conduct occurring in Davao from 2011 to 2016, any crimes other than murder, any killings outside official police operations, any responsibility of mid- or high-level perpetrators, or any systematic conduct or State policy,” he added.
Khan said Philippine authorities failed to provide any documentation to substantiate that the investigations are ongoing or complete, nor any details regarding concrete investigative or prosecutorial steps that have been taken.
He noted that the government referred to a “relatively small” number of past or ongoing investigations into the matter.
“Meanwhile, as already recognized by Pre-Trial Chamber I in its decision authorizing the investigation, there are clear indications that crimes against humanity were committed in the Philippines,” said Khan.
In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Martin Andanar expressed “exasperation” on the ICC’s latest request, noting that the government had been transparent in all its efforts to address the alleged flaws in the campaign.
“Let these efforts of the Philippine government run their course; after all, reciprocity is a key principle in the methods of work of the ICC. To veer away from this principle will only reveal the politicization that has infiltrated the ICC’s ranks,” he said.
“It is also interesting that the ICC mentions the Commission on Human Rights' (CHR) report as the basis for its call for intervention. Let it be clarified that while the CHR has recommended in said report that relevant international organizations continue monitoring the human rights situation in the country, in no part of its report did it even imply the need for direct external investigation. Surely, the CHR knows the implications of such intervention on State sovereignty, and we expect the ICC, especially Mr. Khan, to know that as well,” he added.
From July 2016 to May 31, a total of 6,252 individuals were killed in the administration’s crackdown on illegal drugs. (SunStar Philippines)