UN informed of PH withdrawal from ICC

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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Sunday, March 18, 2018
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MANILA – The Philippines has formally informed the United Nations (UN) about its decision to withdraw membership from the International Criminal Court (ICC), Philippine Ambassador to the UN Teodoro Locsin Jr. said.

In a Twitter post on Friday morning, Locsin said he delivered the notice of withdrawal to UN Chef De Cabinet Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti.

“The decision to withdraw is the Philippines’ principled stand against those who politicize and weaponize human rights, even as its independent and well-functioning organs and agencies continue to exercise jurisdiction over complaints, issues, problems, and concerns arising from its efforts to protect its people,” read part of the letter addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

“The Philippines assures the community of nations that the Philippine Government continues to be guided by the rule of law embodied in its Constitution, which also enshrines the country’s long-standing tradition of upholding human rights,” it added.

Locsin also noted in his post that it was “a sad day but a day sure to come because human rights have been politicized.”

“It is my duty to give you this. A sad day but a day sure to come because human rights have been politicized. We resisted US pressure not to join until we finally signed on, only to have it weaponized against our democracy fighting an existential threat from the drug trade,” Locsin said.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday announced the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, due to “baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks” against him and his administration.

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 Oct. 27, 2017./PN
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