News Story: Petition Calls For War Crime Trials In The Hague

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (File Photo)

By Samim Faramarz

A petition has been filed by families of cvil war victims, who have pointed fingers at certain factions, including Gulbuddin Hekmatyar-led Hizb-e-Islami, for their involvement in war crimes and called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague to prosecute offenders.

They called on the ICC to launch an investigation into the crimes committed by warring factions during the civil war in the country.

In a petition to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Kabul, they requested justice for the victims of crimes allegedly committed by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar-led Hizb-e-Islam group during the civil conflict.

UNAMA has said that the petition is being reviewed, said a member of Green Trend Movement who prepared the petition.

In response, Hizb-e-Islami has said that the petition was prepared by those who are opposed to peace in the country.

“If a transparent international institution acceptable to all is formed for the assessment of these issues, Hizb-e-Islami is prepared to give answers to the nation,” said Hizb-e-Islami spokesman Nadir Afghan.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

News Story: ‘Rody ICC case dead, thanks to Callamard’

By Janvic Mateo

MANILA, Philippines -  “Dead as a door nail.”

This is the fate of the complaint filed with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against President Duterte, according to Philippine ambassador to the United Nations Teodoro Locsin Jr.

The complaint was in connection with allegations of extrajudicial killings ordered or abetted by the Duterte administration in the pursuit of his war on drugs.

“Thank you, Agnes. The ICC case is dead. Trust me on this. Dead as a door nail,” Locsin said in a Twitter post, referring to UN special rapporteur for extrajudicial executions Agnes Callamard, who is in the Philippines to attend a drug policy conference.

Locsin did not offer an explanation for his claim but it was apparently a follow-up to his tweets criticizing Callamard. He accused her of abusing her position when she visited the country to attend a conference on drug policy.

“She says to attend an academic conference but she effectively disqualified herself from any further official role investigating the drug war,” Locsin said.

“She just abused her UN position and that disqualifies her from any further official role in a UN investigation,” he added.

In another tweet, Locsin called the rapporteur a “conceited fool” ignorant of the drug situation in the Philippines.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Duterte - ICC has no jurisdiction over me

By Audrey Morallo

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said that the International Criminal Court does not have jurisdiction on the crimes he was accused of committing, his first reaction to the communication filed by a Philippine lawyer at the Hague moving for his investigation and possible prosecution.

In an interview with reporters, Duterte said that one of the fundamental principles of the Philippine criminal code is territoriality. This means that an accused can be prosecuted only in the territory where the alleged crime was committed, according to Duterte.

“The fundamental thing in our Revised Penal Code is territoriality. You can only be prosecuted in the country where you committed the crime,” the president said. “What are the features of our criminal system? One is territoriality.”

According to the ICC, it has jurisdiction if "the crimes were committed by a State Party national, or in the territory of a State Party, or in a State that has accepted the jurisdiction of the Court." The Philippines ratified the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court in 2011.

"The Philippines, a democracy that champions international law and the rule of law, views being party to the Rome Statute of the ICC as a vital part of the on-going global campaign to end impunity and violence against individuals and to further strengthen a rules-based international system, specifically in relation to international human rights law and humanitarian law," Philippine Permanent Representative Ambassador Libran Cabactulan said when the Philippines deposited the instruments of ratification of the Rome Statute that year.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Palace on ICC case - Black propaganda

By Alexis Romero

MANILA, Philippines - Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo yesterday dismissed the complaint filed against President Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC) as mere “black propaganda.”

Panelo said that “apparently, the intention” is to hit Duterte with “black propaganda… hoping that media worldwide would catch on and paint the President as a murderer when in fact, he’s only doing his constitutional duty to protect and preserve this country. It will fail in making the people believe in the validity of the charge.”

Malacañang also claimed that the ICC complaint was meant to “shame” Duterte as the Philippines hosts the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit this week.

“The timing of the filing of the case is suspect – apparently meant to create negative news in the midst of the Philippines' ASEAN (hosting),” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement. 

“The intent of this filing in ICC is clearly to embarrass and shame the President, and undermine the duly constituted government of the Philippines,” he added. 

The lawyer of self-confessed hit man Edgar Matobato has asked the ICC to hold Duterte and other officials accountable for “crimes against humanity” that stemmed from the government’s war on drugs.

Read the full story at PhilStar

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Related Story: FULL TEXT: Criminal complaint filed vs Duterte before the International Criminal Court

News Story: Criminal case vs Duterte filed before International Criminal Court

By Patricia Lourdes Viray

MANILA, Philippines (Second update 5:32 p.m.) — The lawyer of self-confessed hitman Edgar Matobato on Monday filed a complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte and 11 other government officials before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Lawyer Jude Sabio accused Duterte of being a "mass murderer" and asked the international court to prosecute him over his involvement in the so-called Davao Death Squad.

"Your favourable action on this matter would not only serve the noble ends of international criminal justice but would also be the beginning of the end of this dark, obscene, murderous and evil era in the Philippines," Sabio told the court in his cover letter.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: EU summons Filipino envoy to explain Duterte tirade

President Rodrigo Duterte

By Jim Gomez

MANILA, Philippines — The European Union on Monday summoned a Philippine envoy to explain an expletive-laden tirade by President Rodrigo Duterte, who threatened to hang EU officials for opposing his efforts to re-impose the death penalty.

The EU's external action service, the equivalent of a foreign office, said it hauled Charge d'Affaires Alan Deniega in to its Brussels headquarters to provide "an explanation for the recent, unacceptable comments of President Duterte."

The move highlights growing European exasperation with the president. Earlier, the EU denied his allegations that it proposed solving the Philippines' drug problem by creating treatment clinics where illegal drugs such as methamphetamine or cocaine would be dispensed.

The EU Delegation to the Philippines issued a statement saying it has not "suggested, discussed, proposed or considered the use of any substitution drugs when treating addiction to methamphetamine ... or any other drug addiction in the Philippines." It did not mention Duterte by name.

Duterte, who has lashed out at the EU repeatedly for raising human rights concerns over his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs, said in a speech Friday the EU had proposed a "health-based solution" to the drug problem that involved dispensing methampetamine, locally known as shabu, cocaine or heroin.

He branded the supposed EU proposal a "government-sponsored idiotic exercise."

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Duterte vows brutal drug war

President Duterte

By Christina Mendez

34 killed in 11 days – PNP

MANILA, Philippines -  Despite facing an impeachment complaint and efforts to bring him before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for summary killings, President Duterte vows that his war on drugs will be sustained, and it will be “brutal.”

In a press conference at the Davao International Airport yesterday, Duterte said he could not be stopped from pursuing his drug war despite the impeachment complaint filed against him by the Magdalo party-list and efforts to hale him before the ICC.

“Listen to me: I will deliver my promises even if it will cost me my life, my honor and the presidency. I can let these go, but I will comply with my promise,” he said.

“The drive against corruption, the drive against criminality and drugs will resume and it will continue and it will be brutal if they do not understand the role of government. Suppression includes all,” he added.

He shrugged off the impeachment complaint and the move to bring him to the ICC.

 “I welcome both developments. They can do their worst; I can do better in my performance as a worker in government. This is a democracy,” Duterte said before leaving for Myanmar and Thailand for official visits.

 “But I will not be intimidated or I shall not be stopped by just, what – an International  Criminal Court? Impeachment?

“If it is part of my destiny, it is my destiny to go… that’s all about it, fate. Maybe, God gave me just two years, or six months, or one year and a half to be president of this country, fine. But let it not be said that I did not fulfill my challenges. That is what life is all about, honoring your commitment to your fellowmen,” he added.

Duterte reiterated his stand against illegal drugs, saying he does not care about drug criminals losing their lives during legitimate operations as long as no member of the police or the military is killed.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Duterte - Killing criminals not a sin vs Pinoys

President Duterte

By Christina Mendez and Alexis Romero

MANILA, Philippines -  He has never felt remorse for the death of thousands in his anti-drug war and is ready to accept his fate if charges are filed against him before the International Criminal Court (ICC), President Duterte said on Monday.

In a press briefing at Malacañang, Duterte stressed he was merely exercising his mandate to protect the country in his pursuit of a vicious war on drugs that has left thousands dead since he assumed power in July.

“Wala pa naman ako kasalanan sa Pilipino. Ano bang kasalanan ko sa inyo? Pagpatay ng kriminal? Ano pa? Anong ninakaw ko? Kasi nagtatrabaho lang ako, kung ayaw ninyo eh ‘di huwag (I did no wrong to Filipinos. What wrong have I done to you? Killing criminals? What else? I’m just doing my job, if you can’t take it, then go),” he said.

Stopping corruption and illegal drugs was his campaign promise, he emphasized.

“But I said I have to comply with my promise. There’s so much noise about this thing about extrajudicial killing – I’ve told you there’s none. Just ask any policeman here in Manila, ask him if I’ve ever ordered anyone down on his knees or about to surrender killed,” he said in Filipino.

At one point during the briefing, Duterte said he is undeterred by attacks from human rights groups. If criminals are undeterred by the death penalty, neither is he by the prospect of criminal liability that may arise from human rights issues.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Report: Experts - N. Korea Must Be Held Accountable for Crimes Against Humanity

North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un

Lisa Schlein

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — A group of independent experts is calling for the government of North Korea to be brought before the International Criminal Court in The Hague for gross violations of human rights, including crimes against humanity.

The experts, who submitted their report to the U.N. Human Rights Council Monday, said the government has done nothing to end the widespread and systematic violations committed against its population since a U.N. commission of inquiry issued a damning report documenting horrific cases of abuse in that country in February 2014.

The experts said they used “the commission of inquiry report as a basis” on issues of accountability for human rights violations in DPRK (Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea) especially “where such violations amount to crimes against humanity.”

Sara Hossain, a legal expert from Bangladesh, told the council that it was the primary duty of the government itself “to bring perpetrators of violations in the country to account.”

Since that had not been done and “given the lack of impartiality and independence of the judiciary,” she said the only recourse was to seek justice in the international arena.

“In these circumstances, we call on the international community to continue to pursue a referral of the situation in the DPRK to the International Criminal Court.”

In view of the large number of reported crimes and perpetrators, she said, “We also recommend that other criminal accountability processes be undertaken. The groundwork for future criminal trials should be laid now.”

The U.N. experts also recommended the establishment of an ad hoc international tribunal, “which could act as a deterrent for future crimes.”

News Story: Martial law threat - Is Duterte serious?

President Duterte

By Christina Mendez

MANILA, Philippines -  After President Duterte warned of imposing martial law in Mindanao should local officials fail to address the peace and order situation in the region, two Palace officials yesterday expressed different opinions on whether the President was serious about his threat.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella downplayed Duterte’s warning, saying the President is not a dictator despite having a strong stance against drugs and corruption.

“The President is not a dictator. The legislative and judiciary are independent from each other and we’re cooperating with them,” Abella said over the state-run Radyo ng Bayan.

But Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno believes Duterte is serious with his threats in Mindanao and just wants local officials to take the lead.

“If they don’t act, the President is really serious about martial law,” Sueno said referring to local officials in Mindanao.

Abella’s reference to a “dictator” came in the wake of Duterte’s statement that he might be compelled to declare martial law in Mindanao if local officials would not help him in the fight against terrorism, extremism and rebellion.

Sueno said Duterte felt that local government officials in Mindanao are not doing enough to address the security problem.

“In previous years, it seemed the local chief executives just leave the peace and order problem to the military and police. They do not take the lead,” he said.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Lawyer - Possible ICC case vs Duterte can be grounds for impeachment

By Patricia Lourdes Viray

MANILA, Philippines — The case to be filed before the International Criminal Court (ICC) can be an added basis for a possible impeachment complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte, a lawyer said.

Jude Sabio, legal counsel of self-confessed hitman Edgar Matobato, earlier confirmed that he is scheduled to file a case of crimes against humanity against the president for his supposed liability for the extrajudicial killings of drug offenders

In a telephone interview with philstar.com, Sabio said that the testimonies of Matobato and former SPO3 Arthur Lascañas would be enough to prove the existence of the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS).

"As testified by Matobato, more than a thousand nameless persons were killed in Davao like chickens and this is also confirmed by Matobato so basically that will be the main thrust of the complaint. It's now easy to prove the pattern because we now have the testimony of Edgar Matobato and the corroborative testimony of Lascañas," Sabio told philstar.com

An ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had earlier expressed concern over the fact that Philippine officials seem to condone alleged extrajudicial killings and seem to encourage the police and civilians to continue targeting drug suspects.

Bensouda said that extrajudicial killings may fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC if they are committed as a part of a widespread attack against a civilian population pursuant to a government policy.

"Let me be clear: any person in the Philippines who incites or engages in acts of mass violence including by ordering, requesting, encouraging or contributing, in any other manner, to the commission of crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC is potentially liable to prosecution before the Court," Bensouda said in a statement released on Oct. 13, 2016.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Matobato lawyer to file criminal case vs Duterte in international court

By Patricia Lourdes Viray

MANILA, Philippines — The lawyer of self-confessed hitman Edgar Matobato confirmed that he is set to file a criminal case against President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his alleged involvement in the so-called Davao Death Squad.

Lawyer Jude Sabio said that the testimonies of Matobato and former SPO3 Arthur Lascañas in previous Senate hearings would be enough to pin down the president for crimes against humanity.

"Their testimonies, which corroborate each other to prove that in Davao City when Duterte was still mayor, it was his policy or strategy to kill suspected criminals in order to control crime," Sabio said in a telephone interview with Philstar.com

Sabio is scheduled to fly to The Hague, Netherlands by the end of March or the first week of April to file the case before the international court

The lawyer noted that the testimonies of Matobato and Lascañas would prove a pattern that what happened in Davao City during Duterte's term is happening in the country today.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: HRW - Duterte could be charged with crimes vs humanity

President Rodrigo Duterte

By Audrey Morallo

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte could be held liable for crimes against humanity for abetting an atmosphere of death that has killed thousands in his campaign to rid the country of illegal drugs, according to a report by an international human rights group.

In its report “License to Kill,” Human Rights Watch criticized the president and his senior government officials for what it said is their culpability in drug-related killings that have left more than 7,000 people dead.

Although there was is no evidence so far that the chief executive himself planned or ordered specific extrajudicial killings, the group believes that there are sufficient grounds for Duterte, Philippine National Police Director General Ronald Dela Rosa, Solictor General Jose Calida and Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to be held criminally responsible.

“Even if not directly involved in any specific operations to summarily execute any specific individual, President Duterte appears to have instigated unlawful acts by the police, incited citizens to commit serious violence, and made himself criminal liable under international law for the unlawful killings as a matter of command responsibility,” HRW said in its report.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Report: South Korea Urges UN to Refer DPRK Leaders to ICC

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un

Brian Padden

SEOUL — South Korea is using the apparent assassination of Kim Jong Nam to call again for the United Nations to refer North Korea to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity. 

Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se condemned what his country’s intelligence service has called the North Korean “state orchestrated” killing of Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, two weeks ago in Malaysia by agents using deadly VX nerve agent.

Yun urged the international body to link this case to ongoing efforts to prosecute the North Korean leadership for widespread North Korean human rights violations.

“Now the international community should hold those violators accountable by bringing the North Korean case to the ICC,” said Foreign Minister Yun.

In 2014 the United Nations General Assembly voted to refer North Korea to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, after a Commission of Inquiry report documented ongoing atrocities in North Korea that include incarcerating over 120,000 people in political prisons, as well as systematic abuses that included torture, enslavement, rape and murder.

The measure has since stalled in the U.N. Security Council, where the Pyongyang’s allies, China and Russia, are believed to be preventing it from coming to a vote.

Yun told the 47-member forum in Geneva that North Korea has “openly or extra judicially” executed several hundred high-level officials, and that a rising number of North Koreans have defected to escape the increasingly volatile rule of Kim Jong Un.

News Report: Defector - Criticism of Nuclear Program Only Strengthens Kim

North Korean Leader: Kim Jong Un

Brian Padden

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — A high-ranking North Korean defector says clashing with Pyongyang over its nuclear program has strengthened Kim Jong Un’s leadership, but continued human rights criticism and increased information from the outside world will over time lead to the downfall of the authoritarian and repressive regime.

Thae Yong-ho, North Korea’s former deputy ambassador in London, defected to South Korea in July, and has recently become an analyst with the Institute for National Security Strategy, a research organization affiliated with South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.

Thae has started speaking to media outlets in Seoul, providing insight into the mindset of the secretive Kim leadership, and how the international community can best foster change.

News Report: Sanctions Reinforce North Korea Siege Mentality

Brian Padden

SEOUL — North Korea’s recent responses to international sanctions and criticisms offer a key insight into how the isolated leadership in Pyongyang views itself as a nation under siege.

Following the latest round of United Nations Security Council sanctions imposed on North Korea for conducting its fifth nuclear test in September, Ja Song Nam, the U.N. Ambassador from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), defended his country’s efforts to strengthen its nuclear deterrence against the “ceaseless hostile moves” by the United States.

In a letter to the Security Council Ja said the U.S. is intent on the “political suffocation and system collapse” of the Kim Jong Un government, and alleged that following the 2012 death of North Korea leader Kim Jong Il, the U.S. “began to openly pursue the objective” of overthrowing the government in Pyongyang.

Also attached was a North Korean Foreign Ministry memorandum detailing an extensive list of alleged military provocations made by the U.S. including:

• Increasing the number of U.S. troops participating in joint military exercises with South Korea from 3,500 in 2013 to 27,000 in 2016.

• Deploying nuclear powered aircraft carriers and submarines as well as nuclear strategic bombers into the region.

• Practicing preemptive strike exercises to simulate taking control of the North’s nuclear facilities.

• Deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile defense shield in South Korea.

The U.S and its allies do not deny those actions, but argue they are taking stronger conventional military measures to counter the increasing North Korean nuclear threat that this year included two nuclear tests and numerous launches of ballistic missiles.

News Story: UN Security Council to discuss North Korea rights abuses

Image: Flickr User - FabienA380

The UN Security Council will discuss human rights violations in North Korea on Friday despite opposition from China, Pyongyang's ally, diplomats said.

Beijing is expected to call for a procedural vote to block the meeting on North Korea -- accused by a UN inquiry of committing atrocities unparalleled in the modern world -- for the third consecutive year.

Nine council members -- Britain, France, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, Ukraine, the United States and Uruguay -- requested the meeting, saying in a letter this week that they required information on the situation in North Korea "and its implications for international peace and security."

Beijing maintains that the regime's rights abuses do not pose a risk to global security, and that the issue should be taken up by the UN Human Rights Council.

China failed to stop the meeting last year, although Russia, Angola and Venezuela also voted in favor of dropping North Korea's rights abuses from the council agenda.

The council has held annual meetings on human rights in North Korea since 2014, with Pyongyang refusing to send a representative to the talks.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: Meeting Putin, Philippines' Duterte rails at Western 'hypocrisy'

Reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Shri Navaratnam

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte lashed out at Western "bullying" and "hypocrisy" during his first meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and said when it came to alliances, the United States could not be trusted.

In talks with Putin during an Asia-Pacific summit in Lima, Duterte held nothing back in his views about major powers like the United States, suggesting he is sticking to his guns on re-aligning foreign policy away from Washington, despite his warm words for incoming U.S. president, Donald Trump.

"Historically, I have been identified with the Western world. It was good until it lasted," he told the Russian leader.

"And of late, I see a lot of these Western nations bullying small nations. And not only that, they are into so much hypocrisy," he said, according to a transcript of Saturday's meeting provided by his office.

Read the full story at Reuters

News Story: UN slams North Korea for diverting funds to missiles

UN member states on Tuesday condemned widespread human rights violations in North Korea and expressed concerns that funds needed to ease the dire humanitarian crisis are spent on Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programs.

A resolution drafted by Japan and the European Union was adopted by a consensus vote in the General Assembly's committee on humanitarian affairs.

Following the vote, diplomats from China, Pyongyang's ally, Russia, Syria, Iran and Cuba took the floor to state they were disassociating themselves from the outcome.

The full General Assembly is expected to vote on the measure next month.

North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests this year and test-fired a series of missiles, even as 18 million North Koreans out of a total population of 25 million are facing food shortages, Japan's ambassador said.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Report: On North Korea, Trump Could Change Everything

Brian Padden

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — After winning the U.S. presidential election, President-elect Donald Trump has tried to reassure allies in Northeast Asia that are apprehensive at the possibility he may follow through on the radical policy changes he suggested during the campaign.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke to the president-elect to stress the need for close cooperation between their two nations to maintain peace and stability in Asia, according to an official in Tokyo. Abe is also planning to meet with Trump in November before traveling to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru.

During a phone call with South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Thursday, the U.S. president-elect said, “We are with you all the way, and we will not waver,” according to a statement from the Seoul presidential office.