Archive - The ICC Probe

The International Criminal Court (ICC) said it expects to decide “in the first half of 2021” whether to pursue an investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed in President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on illegal drugs.

The Netherlands-based International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Tuesday that it has found “reasonable basis to believe” that crimes against humanity were committed in President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs campaign.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR) is offering “technical assistance and capacity-building” to the Duterte government to help improve the human rights situation in the Philippines.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized the Philippine government for trying to dissuade independent, international efforts to investigate thousands of unsolved drug-related deaths in the country by creating a “ruse” and “flawed” inter-agency review panel.

The largest body of independent human rights experts in the United Nations (UN) called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to “expedite and prioritize” the completion of its preliminary investigation into the human rights violations allegedly perpetrated by the Duterte government in the context of its controversial war on drugs.

What's so important about United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet’s report released last Thursday on President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s drug war?

Late last year, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told a group of human rights advocates from the Philippines in The Hague for a conference: “I am going to Manila next year.”

The cancellation by the United States government of Sen. Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa’s visa is a preview of what’s in store for police officials involved in President Duterte’s brutal drug war that has claimed the lives of at least 20,000 through a reprehensible practice of extrajudicial killing (EJK).

The ICC's preliminary examination on alleged crimes against humanity under the Duterte government's drug war was not just based on Sabio's submission alone.

​May President Duterte unilaterally abrogate the Visiting Forces Agreement without the consent of the Senate?The question arose yesterday after Mr. Duterte angrily warned he will do precisely that if the Americans do not “correct” the cancellation of the US visa earlier issued to a close ally, Senator Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa.

Other than giving Oplan Tokhang defenders some brownie points to crow about in the eyes of their supporters, Jude Sabio's withdrawal of his communication does nothing to the preliminary examination being carried out by ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s office.