Rodrigo Duterte suggests Philippines may withdraw from ICC

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday he may withdraw his country's support of the International Criminal Court, after a prosecutor suggested the court may have jurisdiction to prosecute those responsible for deaths resulting from Duterte's crackdown on drug dealers and users in his country. Photo courtesy of Rodrigo Duterte/Facebook

MANILA, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said his country may follow Russia's lead and withdraw from the International Criminal Court.

In a speech in Manila he referred to the court as "useless" before leaving to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Lima, Peru. An ICC prosecutor said in October the court, headquartered in The Hague, may have jurisdiction over a campaign in the Philippines to crack down on drug dealers and users. Russian news outlet RT reported the government plan, upon which Duterte campaigned for president, has led to the extrajudicial deaths of between 2,300 and 4,000 people, conflicting estimates say.

Duterte said he objected to the international criticism he has received over the crackdown, adding that "nobody was listening" to his reasons for initiating it. He said "I might follow" Russia's withdrawal of support of the ICC.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a withdrawal of support on Wednesday, charging the ICC is "one-sided and inefficient."

The Philippines is one of the original signatories of the Rome Statute, the 1998 document giving the ICC authority to prosecute war crimes and other crimes against humanity.

In late October, Gambia announced it would withdraw from the ICC, following Burundi and South Africa, due to accusations of anti-Africa bias by the ICC. Gambian officials said the ICC has pursued African nations for charges of crimes against humanity but has ignored the actions of Western nations.

Nine of the ICC's 10 current investigations involve African countries, as have many of the cases it has made since its inception in 2002.

In his address Thursday, Duterte also was critical of the United Nations, which he called "dominated by the United States."

"Just because it is America, it does not mean that it is good."

He said the United Nations has done nothing to stop violence around the world, and suggested that "If China and Russia would decide to create a new order, I would be the first to join."

Duterte was elected Philippine president in May on a platform of wiping out the country's drug trade, and since assuming office has issued a number of inflammatory statements, many directed at the United States.