Philippines’ Duterte Threatens to Follow Russia in Quitting International Criminal Court

Duterte: "If Russia, China create ‘new order’ he would be first to join."

President Rodrigo Duterte says if Russia, China create ‘new order’ he would be first to join

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday he might follow Russia’s example and withdraw from the International Criminal Court, where his critics say he could be charged over the thousands killed in his war on drugs.

In a statement before flying to Peru to attend the annual summit of Asia-Pacific leaders, Mr. Duterte also said the United Nations has been useless in stopping wars. He said if China and Russia decide to create a new world order, he would be the first to join them and leave the U.N., which he said was dominated by the U.S.

“You know, if China and Russia would decide to create a new order, I would be the first to join,” he said, adding that he would quit the U.N.

Mr. Duterte also criticized the global agreement to fight climate change, saying there are no penalties for violators and it isn’t clear which industrialized countries will contribute money to support developing countries’ efforts against global warming. He said that was the reason why President-elect Donald Trump doesn't want the U.S. to spend on fighting climate change.

During his campaign, Mr. Trump said he would pull the U.S. out of the Paris pact on climate change.

The foul-mouthed Mr. Duterte said that like Russia, he might withdraw from the ICC “because we the small ones are the only ones being beaten up,” but nothing has been done for the thousands of children and women dying in bombings in Syria and Iraq.

Mr. Duterte is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the sidelines of the summit in Lima. He requested for the bilateral meeting because he wants to meet and be friends with Mr. Putin, whom he said was his idol.

Human-rights advocates have criticized Mr. Duterte’s antidrug campaign that has left more than 4,000 suspected addicts and pushers dead since July. They said the killings can be a basis to charge him for crimes against humanity before the Netherlands-based court.

Mr. Duterte said he has intentionally used foul language—including calling PresidentBarack Obama a “son of a bitch”—because Mr. Obama has trivialized the Philippines’ drug problem when there are already around 4 million Filipinos addicted to drugs. The country has a population of more than 103 million.

Source: The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, November 17, 2016

⚑ | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; send a submission; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

• Share
• Tweet
• Share
• Pin
• Share