ICC legislative body hopeful PH will rejoin court ‘in the future’

The International Criminal Court in The Hague, The Netherlands (Photo from the ICC website)

MANILA, Philippines — After the Philippines’ pullout from the International Criminal Court (ICC) took effect on Sunday, the Assembly of States Parties said it was hoping the country would rejoin the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of ICC, “in the future.”

In a statement Tuesday, Assembly of States Parties president O-Gon Kwon of the Republic of Korea said he was hoping that the withdrawal of the country from the Rome Statute was only “temporary.”

“I sincerely hope that the departure of the Philippines from the Rome Statute is only temporary and that it will re-join the Rome Statute family in the future,” Kwon said.

“Encouraging universal adherence to the Rome Statute is key in strengthening our collective efforts to promote accountability for atrocity crimes and the rule of law,” he added.

He stressed that the ICC was relying on the “continued support of the international community to ensure its effectiveness in the fight against impunity.”

Composed of representatives from states that have ratified and acceded to the Rome Statute, the Assembly of States Parties is the legislative body of the ICC.

The Hague-based tribunal launched in February last year a “preliminary examination” of the accusations against President Duterte on crimes against humanity due to his brutal war on drugs.

A month later, Duterte withdrew the Philippines’ ratification of the Rome Statute, citing “baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks” against him and his administration.

Despite the Philippines’ pullout, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said she would continue her examinations on the accusations against Duterte. /cbb

READ: Duterte does the inevitable, declares PH withdrawal from ICC