Human Rights Entities Celebrate Duterte’s Trial
Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu should take note
HAVANA TIMES – The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) celebrated on Friday the 14th the arrest and appearance before the International Criminal Court (ICC) of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
Duterte, 79, who ruled his country with an iron fist from 2016 to 2022, is accused of a series of killings that constitute crimes against humanity during anti-drug campaigns between 2011 and 2019, when he was mayor of the southern city of Davao, the country’s third-largest city, and later as head of state.
The former president appeared before the ICC in The Hague via videoconference from the court’s detention center, where he has been held since arriving in the Dutch city from Manila, where he was arrested under an ICC warrant upon returning from a trip to Hong Kong.
Romanian judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc, president of the ICC, stated that Duterte was allowed to appear via videoconference due to the long flight he had just taken and scheduled the preliminary hearing for September 23. At that time, it will be determined whether the prosecution’s evidence is strong enough to justify the trial.
The trial itself could last years, and if found guilty, Duterte could face a life sentence.
Duterte is accused of promoting, organizing, arming, covering up, and ensuring impunity for “death squads” that emerged from the Philippine police. These squads, first in Davao when he was mayor and later across the archipelago during his presidency, killed thousands under the guise of a “war on drugs.”
According to police statistics, around 6,000 individuals lost their lives in this anti-crime and anti-drug campaign. However, human rights organizations claim that up to 30,000 people were killed in operations conducted without legal or human rights safeguards.
The Philippines, a country with more than 7,000 islands and 115 million inhabitants, is currently led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a political rival of Duterte—although the former president’s daughter, Sara Duterte, serves as vice president. The country withdrew from the ICC in 2019.
However, the UN’s highest court is proceeding with the case, arguing that the alleged crimes under investigation were committed before the withdrawal.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk welcomed Duterte’s appearance before the ICC, calling it “a very important step in seeking accountability for the thousands of victims of killings and other abuses, as well as for their families, who have courageously pursued justice.”
“The extremely serious charges against him will now be addressed fairly and independently, in full accordance with the law,” Türk added, while also praising the Philippine government for cooperating with the enforcement of the international arrest warrant.
A 2020 OHCHR report concluded that there were credible allegations of widespread and systematic extrajudicial executions in the context of the anti-drug campaign, with near-total impunity for such violations.
“Our international legal frameworks and institutions, including the ICC, are fundamental to ensuring justice, achieving accountability for the most serious crimes, preventing future violations, and making the world a safer place for everyone,” Türk emphasized.
Bryony Lau, deputy director for Asia at Human Rights Watch, said that “Duterte’s appearance before the ICC is a testament to the courage and determination of victims, their families, and Filipino activists and journalists in seeking justice, no matter how long it takes.”
“Other leaders facing ICC arrest warrants, such as (Russian President) Vladimir Putin and (Israeli Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu, should take note that even those who seem untouchable today may eventually end up in The Hague,” Lau added.
Andrew Stroehlein, media director for Europe at HRW, commented that “the scale of the killings was astonishing. More than 6,000 Filipinos were killed in the so-called ‘war on drugs.’ Philippine human rights groups say the number exceeds 30,000.”
“Police officers raided homes at night without warrants. They detained suspects and then executed them. They often planted evidence to justify their killings. Most of the victims were impoverished urban dwellers. Among those killed were many children,” Stroehlein said.
Duterte’s appearance before the ICC “is a scene that the families of the thousands of victims of the ‘war on drugs’ in the Philippines feared they would never see,” said Amnesty International’s Southeast Asia researcher Rachel Chhoa-Howard.
“Today demonstrates that those accused of committing the worst crimes may one day be brought before a court, regardless of the position they once held,” Chhoa-Howard emphasized.
She also noted that “the very institution Duterte mocked (ICC) will now judge him for murder as a crime against humanity. This is a symbolic moment and a day of hope for the families of the victims and human rights defenders.”
Present in The Hague, Duterte’s daughter and Philippine Vice President met with supporters outside the court before the hearing and later visited her father in the detention center.
Duterte’s defense lawyer, Salvador Medialdea, declared that his arrest was “pure and simple kidnapping” and claimed that the former president was “denied all access to legal resources in his own country. This is nothing but political retribution.”
First published in Spanish por IPS and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.