Duterte Calls on World Nations to Leave ICC
MANILA (Dispatches) -- Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte Sunday called for other signatories of the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court to join his country in withdrawing from the treaty.
Duterte's comments during a speech to graduating cadets at the Philippine Military Academy in northern Philippines comes after ICC prosecutors last month opened a preliminary examination into the president's "war on drugs".
The Southeast Asian nation last week notified the United Nations secretary-general of its decision to withdraw from the ICC because of what the outspoken Philippine leader called "outrageous" attacks by UN officials and violations of due process.
"I will convince everybody now under the treaty to get out, get out," Duterte said. "It is not a document that was prepared by anybody, it's EU-sponsored."
About 4,000 Filipinos have been killed by police in the past 19 months in a crackdown on drug trafficking.
Police say those thousands of deaths were during legitimate anti-drugs operations in which the suspects had violently resisted arrest.
The Philippines on Thursday told the UN it was withdrawing from the ICC. Duterte on Sunday insisted the ICC could not prosecute him since the treaty was not published locally, in violation of domestic laws.
"That treaty, if you read it, it's all bull," Duterte said. He added that the ICC was part of efforts of "white idiots in the EU" to "atone" for wrongdoings in Africa and the Middle East.
"These people when they went to Africa, they killed the Arabs.... it is really an atonement for their sins. And then they run after either the blacks, when there are so many problems but they still meddle," he said.
Should the Philippines fully withdraw from the court it would follow the African nation of Burundi, which in October 2017 became the first country to leave.
Duterte's comments during a speech to graduating cadets at the Philippine Military Academy in northern Philippines comes after ICC prosecutors last month opened a preliminary examination into the president's "war on drugs".
The Southeast Asian nation last week notified the United Nations secretary-general of its decision to withdraw from the ICC because of what the outspoken Philippine leader called "outrageous" attacks by UN officials and violations of due process.
"I will convince everybody now under the treaty to get out, get out," Duterte said. "It is not a document that was prepared by anybody, it's EU-sponsored."
About 4,000 Filipinos have been killed by police in the past 19 months in a crackdown on drug trafficking.
Police say those thousands of deaths were during legitimate anti-drugs operations in which the suspects had violently resisted arrest.
The Philippines on Thursday told the UN it was withdrawing from the ICC. Duterte on Sunday insisted the ICC could not prosecute him since the treaty was not published locally, in violation of domestic laws.
"That treaty, if you read it, it's all bull," Duterte said. He added that the ICC was part of efforts of "white idiots in the EU" to "atone" for wrongdoings in Africa and the Middle East.
"These people when they went to Africa, they killed the Arabs.... it is really an atonement for their sins. And then they run after either the blacks, when there are so many problems but they still meddle," he said.
Should the Philippines fully withdraw from the court it would follow the African nation of Burundi, which in October 2017 became the first country to leave.