Malacañang insisted Thursday the Philippines would not cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) pending a decision that could pave the way for a full-blown investigation into President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.
“When we withdrew our membership from the Rome Statute, we also withdrew from the obligation to cooperate so we are under no obligation to cooperate with the ICC,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque told a news conference, referring to the treaty that created the ICC.
ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda recently said there was a basis to believe that crimes against humanity were committed in the course of the anti-narcotics campaign, adding her office would decide whether or not to seek authorization from the court to open an investigation within the first half of 2021.
Meanwhile the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines noted the report of the ICC on the recent findings of human rights violations in the country’s campaign against illegal drugs.
“As the country’s national human rights institution, CHR urges the government to acknowledge and address the observations of the ICC, with regard to its findings, and calls for greater transparency and accountability from the government in the movement towards providing redress for cases of human rights violations,” it said in a statement.
“In the end, it is the duty of the state to ensure a healthy balance between liberty and authority and general adherence to the rule of law,” it added.
CHR also said “the primary responsibility to respect, protect and fulfill the rights of individuals remains to be with the state which exists as a modern instrument to balance both individual and social welfare. Thus, the government is called upon to squarely address all the violations that have resulted from the campaign against illegal drugs.”
“The Commission shall continue to cooperate with existing domestic and international protection mechanisms to ensure that human rights violations are addressed and perpetrators are held to account for human rights violations. We remain vigilant and will continue to condemn actions that threaten the peace and security of the people whether committed by state or non-state actors,” it said.