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<font size="1"><a href="https://www.rappler.com/nation/international-criminal-court-report-finds-basis-believe-crimes-against-humanity-duterte-drug-war">https://www.rappler.com/nation/international-criminal-court-report-finds-basis-believe-crimes-against-humanity-duterte-drug-war</a>
</font><h1 class="gmail-reader-title">ICC finds 'basis to believe' crimes vs humanity committed in Duterte's drug war</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Lian Buan - December 15, 2020<br></div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><div id="gmail-__next"><div><div><p>Prosecutor
Fatou Bensouda has not yet decided whether she will move the phase to a
formal investigation, citing restrictions brought by the COVID-19
pandemic </p></div><div><div><p>International Criminal
Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said there is "reasonable basis"
to believe that crimes against humanity were committed in the killings
related to President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs. </p></div><div><p>"The
Office is satisfied that information available provides a reasonable
basis to believe that the crimes against humanity of murder (article
7(1)(a)), torture (article 7(1)(f)) and the infliction of serious
physical injury and mental harm as other inhumane Acts (article 7(1)(k))
were committed on the territory of the Philippines between at least 1
July 2016 and 16 March 2019, in connection to the War on Drugs campaign
launched throughout the country," Bensouda said in her <a href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/itemsDocuments/2020-PE/2020-pe-report-eng.pdf">report</a> released Tuesday, December 15.</p></div><div><p>Bensouda
has not yet decided whether she will move the phase to a formal
investigation, citing restrictions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. She
earlier announced the next move would be decided within the year 2020.</p></div><div><p>"The
Office anticipates reaching a decision on whether to seek authorisation
to open an investigation into the situation in the Philippines in the
first half of 2021," said Bensouda.</p></div><div><p>She
will open an investigation if she determines that the Philippine justice
system was unable or unwilling to prosecute these killings by itself.</p></div><div><p>If it moves to an investigation phase, Prosecutor Bensouda can request the ICC judges to issue summons. </p></div><div><p>Although
there is no investigation yet, National Union of Peoples' Lawyers
(NUPL) president Edre Olalia described the latest report as "rays of
hope (that) have peeked out of the pitch dark clouds of impunity."</p></div><div><p>"Our
government and law enforcers must take this seriously and get the
message loud and clear...We hope real and effective redress can be
achieved in time," said Olalia.</p></div><div><p>In the report, Bensouda said there was a "limited number of investigations and prosecutions."</p></div><div><p>"Open
source information indicates that a limited number of investigations
and prosecutions have been initiated (and, in some cases, completed) at
the national level in respect of direct perpetrators of certain criminal
conduct that allegedly took place in the context of, or connection to,
the War on Drugs campaign," said Bensouda.</p></div><div><p><a href="https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/duterte-government-drug-war-deaths-unsolved">A Rappler analysis in 2019</a> found that investigative gaps and prosecutorial loopholes allowed thousands of cases in the drug war to go unsolved. </p></div><div><p>In June, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra announced<a href="https://www.rappler.com/nation/duterte-administration-creates-panel-probe-deaths-police-operations"> the creation of an inter-agency drug war panel </a>that
would reinvestigate the more than 5,000 people killed by policemen in
legitimate operations. It aims to close the prosecutorial gaps, setting
aside presumption of regularity, and will review whether complaints have
to be filed against cops.</p></div><div><p>Bensouda said she will "continue to closely monitor developments" of the DOJ drug war review panel. </p></div><div><p>Guevarra
said last week that an initial report may be expected soon "in a couple
of provinces with the highest incidence of police operations resulting
in deaths, particularly in Bulacan and Pampanga."</p></div><div><p>International
Law professor Romel Bagares, a counsel for petitioners in the Supreme
Court to reverse the Philippines' withdrawal from the ICC, said the
DOJ's drug war review may be the last factor in Bensouda's decision.</p></div><div><p>"It
may be reasonably inferred the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) is
wrapping up the complementarity question phase," Bagares said. </p></div><div><p>Complementarity refers to the determination if the Philippines is willing and able to investigate by itself.</p></div><div><p>"This
is a real advance. For the first time the OTP identified the
international crimes it said it had reasonable basis to believe were
committed at the time the ICC had jurisdiction over the Philippines,"
said Bagares.</p></div><div><p>Bensouda added in her
report: "The information available also indicates that criminal charges
have been laid in the Philippines against a limited number of
individuals – typically low-level, physical perpetrators – with respect
to some drug-related killings."</p></div><div><p>The DOJ review was also cited by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as among the reasons for its <a href="https://www.rappler.com/nation/guevarra-doj-center-effort-shield-duterte-government-international-probe">watered-down resolution</a>.
Rather than launch its own inquiry, the UNHRC offered technical
assistance to the Philippine government's domestic investigations. </p></div><div><p>Guevarra
had earlier said the review panel will be enough for the ICC to
discontinue its inquiry. Duterte has withdrawn from the ICC, although
the Rome Statute provides that examinations which were opened before the
withdrawal will remain valid.</p></div><div><p>The Supreme Court has not made a decision on petitions seeking to declare the war on drugs unconstitutional. – <strong>Rappler.com</strong></p></div></div></div><div><div><a href="https://www.rappler.com/author/lian-buan"><h5>Lian Buan</h5></a><p><a href="https://twitter.com/lianbuan">@lianbuan</a></p><div><p>Lian
Buan covers justice and corruption for Rappler. She is interested in
decisions, pleadings, audits, contracts, and other documents that
establish a trail. If you have leads, email <a href="mailto:lian.buan@rappler.com">lian.buan@rappler.com</a> or
tweet @lianbuan. </p></div></div></div><br><div><a href="https://www.rappler.com/nation/duterte-blames-toll-regulatory-board-for-rfid-mess"><p><br><span><span></span></span></p></a></div></div></div></div>
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