The International Criminal Court (ICC) has announced that it has temporarily suspended its investigation into the drug war by the Philippine government of Rodrigo Duterte, following a request from Manila asking for its postponement.
The judges of the ICC, based in The Hague, had authorized in September an investigation into this anti-drug barrier marked by thousands of murders committed by the police, considering that it amounted to an illegitimate and systematic attack against civilians.
“The prosecution has temporarily suspended its investigative activities while it assesses the scope and effect of the request for postponement”, formulated by Manila, wrote the ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, in a notification to the court dated Thursday, November 18. He said the prosecution would seek additional information from the Philippines.
According to court documents, Philippine Ambassador Eduardo Malaya called for a postponement of the investigation, saying in his letter of request that the Philippine government was investigating alleged crimes against humanity committed during the war on drugs. The government “Has undertaken and continues to conduct thorough investigations into all reported deaths during drug operations in the country”, writes the ambassador.
“The ICC must investigate”
For Human Rights Watch, “Only 52 murders out of thousands are in the early stages of an investigation. Despite many perfectly clear murder cases, no charges have been laid ”, reacted on Twitter Saturday the director for Asia of the NGO, Brad Adams. “The reality is that impunity is the norm under President Duterte, which is why the ICC must investigate. Let’s hope that the ICC sees clearly through this ruse ”, he added.
Rodrigo Duterte was elected president in 2016 after an outrageous security campaign, promising to eradicate drug trafficking in the Philippines by killing tens of thousands of delinquents.
At least 6,181 people have been killed in more than 200,000 anti-drug operations carried out since July 2016, according to the latest official data released by the Philippines. ICC prosecutors estimate the death toll at between 12,000 and 30,000.
Manila withdrew from the ICC in 2019, but the court assures that the court remains competent over crimes committed while the country was still a member. After refusing to cooperate with the ICC investigation, Rodrigo Duterte backed down in October and announced that he would prepare his defense.