ICC temporarily suspends probe into human rights abuses in Philippines News
995645 / Pixabay
ICC temporarily suspends probe into human rights abuses in Philippines

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday temporarily suspended its investigation into suspected abuses committed by Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte during his crackdown on drugs.

In February 2018, the ICC authorized a preliminary probe into alleged rights abuses committed by President Duterte as a result of a complaint filed with the court accusing the President of making killing his primary form of deterrence.  Then, in September 2021, the ICC began a full probe into President Duterte’s “war on drugs” campaign. The ICC said it had found sufficient reason to believe that crimes against humanity were being committed by President Duterte’s administration as a result of his crackdown.

However, following the ICC’s announcement, Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands Eduardo Malaya requested a deferral of the probe, adding that the Philippine government was investigating the alleged abuses. Thus, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced that the prosecution would suspend its investigative activities as it looked into the deferral request. Khan added that they would seek additional information from the Philippine government. “The prosecution has temporarily suspended its investigative activities while it assesses the scope and effect of the deferral request.” Nevertheless, despite making this request, Ambassador Malaya claims that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the matter.

According to official data, at least 6,181 people have been killed in more than 200,000 anti-drug operations since July 2016. ICC prosecutors estimate the figure of deaths to be between 12,000 and 30,000.

THIS DAY @ LAW

First impeachment trial began in US Senate

On December 17, 1798, the US Senate began its first impeachment trial. Senator William Blount of Tennessee, a land speculator, was accused of plotting with England to wrest control of Florida from Spain. The Senate ultimately dismissed the charges for lack of jurisdiction—and, perhaps incidentally, lack of Blount, who had gone to Tennessee and had refused to return to the Senate for trial. Read more on the trial of William Blount.

Simon Bolivar dies

On December 17, 1830, South American revolutionary Simon Bolivar died in Colombia. During his lifetime, Bolivar led successful revolutions against Spanish colonial rule throughout South America. His efforts led to the independence of the modern-day nations of Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador and Bolivia, a nation named in his honor.