ICC opens probe into Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’

The International Criminal Court yesterday authorised a full probe into Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs”, saying it resembled an illegitimate and systematic attack on civilians.Judges said there was a “reasonable basis” to believe that the crime against humanity of murder had been committed in the crackdown, which has left thousands of people dead.Duterte pulled Manila out of the Hague-based court in 2019 after it launched a preliminary probe, but the ICC said it had jurisdiction over crimes committed while the Philippines was still a member.The ICC judges said that the “so-called ‘war on drugs’ campaign cannot be seen as a legitimate law enforcement operation, and the killings neither as legitimate nor as mere excesses in an otherwise legitimate operation”.Evidence suggested that a “widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population took place pursuant to or in furtherance of a state policy,” they said in a statement.Former ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had asked judges in June to authorise the full-blown probe into allegations that police unlawfully killed up to tens of thousands of civilians.The case will now be taken up by her successor, Karim Khan, who took over shortly afterwards.The drugs crackdown is Duterte’s signature policy initiative and he defends it fiercely, especially from critics like Western leaders and institutions which he says do not care about his country.The firebrand leader was elected in 2016 on a campaign promise to get rid of the Philippines’ drug problem, openly ordering police to kill drug suspects if their lives are in danger.At least 6,181 people have been killed in over 200,000 anti-drug operations conducted since July 2016, according to the latest official data released by the Philippines in July this year.ICC prosecutors in court papers estimate the figure to be between 12,000-30,000 slain victims.Prosecutors said that Manila has not denied people were killed during police operations but “have instead consistently contended that these deaths resulted from officers acting in self defence”.Duterte drew international censure when he pulled the Philippines from the court after it launched a preliminary investigation into his drugs crackdown.But the judges said that even though the Philippines had withdrawn as a state party to the court, the alleged crimes took place while Manila was still signed up to the court’s Rome Statute, so it could still probe them.