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[av_heading heading=’Duterte: PH pulling out of International Criminal Court treaty’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’18’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY PRINCE GOLEZ
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Wednesday, March 14, 2018
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MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has declared on Wednesday that the Philippines was withdrawing from the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court, “immediately.”
Duterte cited the ICC’s “propensity for failing to give due respect to the State Parties of the Rome Statute” and the “clear bias on the part of the United Nations against the Philippines.”
Another factor the President cited was the “accusations” of UN special rapporteurs Agnes Callamard, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and Celia Jimenez-Damary, UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, and ICC special prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, on the alleged human rights violations under his administration.
Bensouda’s move to consider drug-related deaths as crimes against humanity was “premature,” said Duterte.
The President believes the ICC was being used as “a political tool against the Philippines.”
“The so-called war against drugs is lawfully directed against drug lords and pushers who have for many years destroyed the present generation specially the youth,” he explained.
“The deaths resulting in the process of making lawful arrests arising from the violent resistance of the suspects that endangered in the lives of the police officers cannot be said to have been committed against a national, ethical, racial, or religious group,” Duterte added.
The Philippines became the 117th state to join the ICC on Aug. 23, 2011./PN
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