The ICC has denied the Philippines appeal to cease their investigation into Duterte's brutal drug war which resulted in thousands of people being killed. This has caused an outcry amongst various politicians and pundits about how the ICC is picking on the Philippines and should investigate human rights abuses in Western nations. Senator Imee Marcos' comments are typical.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1750575/picking-on-ph-but-not-probing-western-nations-icc-a-caricature-of-intl-justice-says-imee-marcos |
Senator Imee Marcos on Friday joined the chorus of criticisms thrown at the International Criminal Court (ICC) under the administration of her brother, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., as she called the tribunal a “caricature of international justice.”
Imee lambasted the international court, saying it fails to go after crimes committed in Western nations and only picks on “less developed countries” like the Philippines.
The ICC is investigating alleged crimes against humanity committed under the leadership of Marcos Jr.’s predecessor Rodrigo Duterte in the context of his violent war on drugs.
It is rather hilarious that Marcos calls the Philippines "less developed." Isn't it part of her job to help develop the nation? And of course it was her parents who plundered the nation. The reason the Philippines remains undeveloped is because the government is corrupt at every single level from the Barangay hall to Malacañang. What is she doing to remedy that? Nothing at all.
“The ICC’s long-standing failure to investigate Western nations for countless crimes against humanity makes the court a caricature of international justice,” Imee said in a statement.
She cited the 2003 United States-led invasion of Iraq, which was “based on non-existent weapons of mass destruction and in violation of resolutions by the United Nations.”
According to a Reuters report, the invasion was meant to topple a dictator and usher in democracy but instead plunged war-scarred Iraq into “years of upheaval and chaos.”
“Selective justice, anyone? This month marks the 20th year of the ICC’s failure to bring those responsible to account. The West’s oft-invoked cliché about upholding an ‘international rules-based order’ is apparently a sham,” Imee said.
Is Imee Marcos unaware that the Philippines was part of the coalition of the willing?
"The Philippines is part of the coalition of the willing. We are giving political and moral support for actions to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction," Mrs. Arroyo told the graduating class of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) at Fort Del Pilar in Baguio City.
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2003/03/21/199720/145rp-backs-coalition-willing146
Will she be condemning the AFP and President Arroyo for backing the USA's invasion Iraq? Of course not.
The senator then went on: “Picking on African nations and other ‘low-hanging fruit’ like the Philippines is easier for the ICC. The perpetual circus of putting leaders of less developed countries on trial seeks to divert the world’s attention from the crimes against humanity committed by the West.”
Imee argued that the supposed diversion promotes the “false image” of Western nations as “unimpeachable protectors of human rights.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, human rights issues are openly used as pressure points, as bargaining chips to serve Western [neocolonialist’s] intertwined political, economic, and military agenda,” she added.
Government officials in both the Marcos and Duterte administrations had repeatedly questioned the jurisdiction of the ICC over the Philippines after its withdrawal from the Rome Statute – the global treaty that created the ICC – took effect in 2019.
But according to Article 127 of the Rome Statute, a state party shall not be discharged from its obligations to the statute prior to its withdrawal.
The Supreme Court also ruled in the same position in 2021, saying that “withdrawing from the Rome Statute does not discharge a state party from obligations it has incurred as a member.”
"Low-hanging fruit like the Philippines?" It's incredible that Senator Marcos is badmouthing the Philippines. Will she recognize that the justice system is broken too? No of course not.
The running theme is that the ICC is picking on the Philippines while ignoring really real human rights abuses committed by the West. But this is not the case. As far as the invasion of Iraq there was a preliminary investigation into alleged war crimes. There is a lengthy Wikipedia article about it.
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| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Criminal_Court_and_the_2003_invasion_of_Iraq |
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| https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/25/mass-complaint-launched-against-philippines-president-duterte-at-icc |
A Filipino lawyer has filed a complaint at the international criminal court (ICC) accusing president Rodrigo Duterte and 11 other Philippine officials of mass murder and crimes against humanity.
In the first publicly known filing to the Hague court against Duterte, Jude Sabio submitted the 77-page complaint that says the president has “repeatedly, unchangingly and continuously” committed extra-judicial executions or mass murders over three decades, amounting to crimes against humanity.
It says the killing of 9,400 people began in 1988 when Duterte was mayor of the southern city of Davao and has lasted throughout his 10 months so far as president, during which he has waged a virulent and bloody “war on drugs”.
The communication is based on the reports of human rights groups, Duterte’s own public admissions that he killed, media reports and the testimony of Sabio’s client, Edgar Matobato, a man who testified in the Philippines senate that he was part of a hit squad that operated on Duterte’s orders.
The complaint also referred to testimony from retired police officer Arturo Lascanas, another hitman who said he personally killed “about 200 people” as a member of the Davao Death Squad. That organisation, Lascanas has said, regularly took direct orders from then-mayor Duterte to kill criminals, political opponents and journalists.
“Sometimes we kidnapped our subject and put the packing tape on their head until they suffocated, and then we would throw them in the street,” recalled Lascanas in an interview with the Observer.
Philippine lawmakers have dismissed the credibility of Matobato and Lascanas, while Duterte’s aides have rejected claims that he killed or ordered unlawful killings, even after he announced that he threw one suspect to his death from a helicopter.
The 72-year-old leader has led a bloody campaign against drugs that has left more than 7,000 people dead since June last year, mostly suspected low-level dealers and alleged addicts. Rights groups say vigilantes, who conduct most of the killings, are paid by the police, a charge law enforcement denies.
A March resolution delivered by European Union lawmakers said there were also “credible reports” that Philippine police falsify evidence to justify extrajudicial killings. However, Duterte has enjoyed widespread domestic support and high approval ratings for his lethal crackdown.
The complaint to the ICC against Duterte and government officials called for an investigation, arrest warrants and a trial.
“The situation in the Philippines reveals a terrifying, gruesome and disastrous continuing commission of extrajudicial executions or mass murder,” the complaint said.
The ICC office of the prosecutor said in a statement said that it had received a communication. “We will analyse it, as appropriate. As soon as we reach a decision, we will inform the sender and provide reasons for our decision,” the office said.
It is true that 3 years later Sabio withdrew the complaint but the ICC says complaints cannot be withdrawn.
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| https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/1/14/jude-sabio-international-criminal-court-rodrigo-duterte.html |
The ICC Office of the Prosecutor, however, told CNN Philippines that no communication before them can be withdrawn. It added that any supposed withdrawal "would have no impact" on the preliminary examination it is conducting.
"The Office cannot effectively destroy or return information once it is [in] its possession or control. However, the Office would register any supplemental information the sender may now want to provide, including in terms of how to treat such information," its news desk said.
There you go. End of story. The ICC is not picking on the Philippines but is following through on a complaint brought to it by a Filipino. Since the Philippines did not withdraw from the ICC until 2019 the period of their membership, 2011 - 2019, is lawfully covered by the Rome Statue to which the Philippines was a party. There is nothing else to say. If the Philippines refuses to cooperate they can be counted not trustworthy for refusing to adhere to a treaty they willingly signed. Of course when it comes to rulings in their favor like the WPS issue they are all gung-ho for the international rule of law. Don't forget the Philippines remains a member of the UN and President Marcos attended the World Economic Forum with a large retinue because the Philippines remains an integral part of the World Order.
Please do not think this article is something it is not. This is not a defense of the ICC. This is not a defense of the West. This is not a defense of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. This is a direct rebuke against the ignorance and hypocrisy of self-righteous people like Imee Marcos. Learn the facts before you open your mouth to vomit forth an opinion.
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