Philippines citizens file ICC complaint accusing Duterte of murder News
Public Domain // Presidential Communications Operations Office
Philippines citizens file ICC complaint accusing Duterte of murder

Several Philippines families filed a communication [partial text] with the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] on Tuesday, accusing President Rodrigo Duterte of murder during his war on drugs.

The communication is the second filed with the ICC, the first of which was filed in April 2017. The ICC began preliminary examination in February. The communication charges [ICC summary] Duterte with crimes against humanity in violation of the Rome Statute, including extrajudicial killings during the war on drugs.

Duterte announced the Philippines’s withdrawal from the ICC in March. In a 15-page letter [text] to the media, Duterte declared [JURIST report] that the Philippines will immediately withdraw its ratification of the Rome Statute [text], which established the ICC and was ratified by the Philippines in late 2011. Under the statute, however, a member can withdraw no sooner than one year following written notification to the UN Secretary-General. In response, Duterte claimed that the agreement was immediately voidable because it was signed fraudulently.

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