MANILA – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) warned that impunity will reign as the Philippines’ withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) formally took effect yesterday.
The CHR said the Filipino people are the losers in the move that reverses the “country’s commitment to international treaty obligations, particularly in ending impunity.”
“In the end, it is the Filipino people who are bound to lose when they no longer have the recourse in times when local justice systems fail in protecting them. It is then impunity that wins as a consequence of withdrawal,” the CHR said.
It added: “The best way to move forward is to cooperate in ICC’s preliminary examination and demonstrate its commitment in ending impunity, rather than blocking avenues in seeking justice and perhaps reconsider its withdrawal from the Rome Statute.”
President Rodrigo Duterte on March 17, 2018 declared the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute – the treaty that established the ICC – due to “baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks” against him and his administration.
The withdrawal came after the ICC announced a preliminary examination on alleged extrajudicial killings in the country. The preliminary examination will determine whether there is cause to go on a full-blown investigation.
The Rome Statute was created to “put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of these crimes and thus to contribute to the prevention of such crimes” and established the ICC the same day the treaty was entered into force on July 1, 2002.
Before the Philippines expressed their withdrawal, Burundi, Gambia, and South Africa have attempted to withdraw from the ICC. Gambia and South Africa later retracted their plan but Burundi went through with the proceedings and left the court on October 27, 2017.
Two groups of petitioners had asked the Supreme Court to declare the Executive branch’s withdrawal as “invalid or ineffective” due to lack of concurrence from at least two-thirds of the members of the Senate but the high court took no action./PN
