Philippines formally informs UN of its withdrawal from ICC due to "politicizing, weaponizing human rights"
The Philippines has formally informed the United Nations of its withdrawal from the Rome Statute, creating the International Criminal Court, as it cited the efforts of some groups to "politicize and weaponize human rights."
In a Twitter post, Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations Teodoro Locsin Jr. said he delivered the letter to the chef de cabinet of the Philippines' withdrawal as the United Nations Secretary General was abroad.
"The Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations presents its compliments to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and has the honor to inform the Secretary-General of the decision of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines to withdraw from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Statute," the letter, dated March 15, read.
"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," the letter added.
While the Philippines has expressed its intent of leaving the ICC, it assured the "community of nations" that the Duterte 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."
The letter also stated Manila's commitment to fight against impunity for atrocity crimes despite its latest action.
Locsin said it was his duty to deliver the Philippine letter.
"A sad day but a day sure to come because human rights has 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," he said on his Twitter account.
President Rodrigo Duterte has decided the Philippines would withdraw as signatory to the Rome Statute after UN High Commission on Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein has said the Philippine leader needs "psychiatric evaluation" following his administration's petition to the court to include some 600 left-leaning individuals, including a Filipino UN rapporteur, in the terrorist list.
He also branded as malicious the preliminary examination being conducted by ICC prosecutor Fatou Besouda following the complaint filed against him by a Filipino lawyer, with the backing of two opposition lawmakers, for allegedly committing crimes against humanity due to the thousands of people killed on his war on drugs.
Duterte also criticized Agnes Callamard, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, for allegedly being bias on his administration's war on drugs. Celerina Monte/DMS
