March 14, 2025

Duterte’s ICC Arrest for Crime Against Humanity Strikes a Blow Against Impunity

Under the guise of his “war on drugs,” the former president of the Philippines murdered political opponents.

Activists in the Philippines say the stunning arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a crime against humanity marks a major step toward accountability for the thousands of Filipinos targeted and killed under the pretext of his infamous “war on drugs.”

“The arrest of Duterte is highly significant for the cause of international justice because it sends a clear signal that tyrants who brazenly trample on basic human rights can eventually be held to account by alternative international accountability mechanisms,” Edre U. Olalia, chairperson of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) in the Philippines and co-president of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, told Truthout.

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books by marjorie cohn
Drones and Targeted Killing The United States and Torture Rules of Disengagement Cowboy Republic: 6 Ways the Bush Gang Defied the Law Cameras in the Courtroom

about marjorie cohn

Marjorie Cohn is professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law where she taught for 25 years. The former president of the National Lawyers Guild and criminal defense attorney is a legal scholar and political analyst who writes books and articles, and lectures throughout the world about human rights, US foreign policy, and the contradiction between the two. She has testified before Congress and debated the legality of the war in Afghanistan at the prestigious Oxford Union. Her columns appear on Truthout, HuffPost, Salon, Jurist, Truthdig, Portside, CommonDreams and Consortium News, and she has provided commentary for CBS News, BBC, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, NPR and Pacifica Radio. Learn more about Marjorie >>

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