ICC drug war probe a 'major step to justice' — groups

MANILA, Philippines — The move of the International Criminal Court to open a full probe into President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly anti-narcotics campaign gives survivors and victims’ families hope that justice could be attained, groups said on Thursday.

Judges of the Hague-based court said there is reasonable basis to believe that Duterte’s “war on drugs”—in which tens of thousands have died—resembled an illegitimate and systematic attack on civilians.

In a joint statement, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers and Rise Up for Life and for Rights—an organization of relatives of those killed in the “drug war”—called ICC’s decision to investigate a “major step to justice.”

“The toll of the ‘war on drugs’ has been exceptionally heavier on the poor, as has been in every disaster, natural or man-made. The ICC decision lends them the right to hope that justice will be served somehow, some day. We have to stand by them every step of the way,” they said.

Rights group Karapatan said the tribunal’s comment reaffirms the views of victims and their families.

“Duterte and his cohorts should be made accountable for these crimes,” it said.  

Human Rights Watch said the decision offers a “much-needed check” on the chief executive and his signature anti-narcotics crackdown.

According to the latest official data released by the government, at least 6,181 people have been killed in anti-drug operations since July 2016. But human rights watchdogs estimate the figure of dead could be several times higher.

Cooperation of families

Duterte will not cooperate with the ICC, his chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo said, claiming that the tribunal had no jurisdiction over the country

Duterte withdraw from the ICC after the court’s former chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, initiated a preliminary examination into the alleged extrajudicial killings committed under the government’s anti-drug crackdown.

But the tribunal said it had jurisdiction over crimes committed while the Philippines was still a member.

NUPL and Rise Up for Life and for Rights said the court can expect the full cooperation of victims and families in the investigation.

“We reiterate our commitment to the investigation and the Office of the Prosecutor, to provide information and evidence that will lead to a determination of persons most responsible for these dastardly crimes against humanity,” they said.

“We intend to bypass the Duterte government’s refusal to cooperate by supplying the OTP with original and authenticated evidence, documentary testimonial, even object evidence, which will be necessary to build the strongest case possible,” they added.

Set up to bring justice to victims of the world’s worst crimes, the ICC is a “court of last resort” and gets involved only if member countries are unwilling or unable to prosecute offenders. — with report from Agence France Presse