{"id":13209,"date":"2026-05-22T06:55:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T05:55:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/?p=13209"},"modified":"2026-05-21T14:21:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:21:05","slug":"icc-upholds-crimes-against-humanity-charges-for-rodrigo-duterte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/icc-upholds-crimes-against-humanity-charges-for-rodrigo-duterte\/","title":{"rendered":"ICC upholds crimes against humanity charges for Rodrigo Duterte"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has unanimously confirmed<\/a> all charges of crimes against humanity against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on April 23, 2026.<\/p>\n

There are substantial grounds to believe, according to the Pre-Trial Chamber, that Duterte is responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder, pursuant to article 7(1)(a) of the Rome Statute. Duterte faces trial on three charges<\/a> in connection with his so-called \u201cwar on drugs\u201d between 2011 and 2019. The first charge concerns killings that occurred while he was mayor of Davao City. The second addresses the deaths of \u201chigh-value targets\u201d nationwide during his presidency. The third concerns individuals killed during barangay \u201cclearance operations\u201d throughout the Philippines.<\/p>\n

The Prosecution clarified<\/a> that the confirmed charges, which involve 49 incidents and 78 victims, are representative examples rather than an exhaustive list.<\/p>\n

On April 22, 2026, the ICC denied<\/a> Duterte’s request to dismiss the case, affirming its jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed in the Philippines before the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute.<\/p>\n

The ICC Appeals Chamber dismissed<\/a> all four grounds of appeal raised by Duterte\u2019s defense, which challenged the court\u2019s jurisdiction. The Chamber also reaffirmed<\/a> that the Philippines’ 2019 withdrawal from the Rome Statute does not exempt Duterte or the country from accountability for crimes committed while it was a member.<\/p>\n

On May 8, 2026, Duterte\u2019s lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, requested<\/a> the ICC to review Duterte\u2019s detention, citing health issues and hospitalizations since his transfer to ICC custody in March 2025. Kaufman argued<\/a> that a clear change in circumstances justifies a reassessment of the risk factors outlined in Article 58(1)(b) of the Rome Statute and supports \u201cDuterte\u2019s release to the country that has indicated its willingness to receive him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The defense has asked<\/a> the ICC to release Duterte to a third country willing to accept him while he awaits trial. The Common Legal Representatives of Victims (CLRV) oppose<\/a> the request, emphasizing the risk of flight and interference, particularly following the confirmation of all charges.<\/p>\n

\u201cReleasing him at this stage would undermine victims\u2019 confidence in the judicial process and would send an emboldening signal to his supporters, encouraging pressure and intimidation against victims exercising their rights,\u201d they stated<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The ICC Office of the Prosecutor also supports<\/a> continued detention, citing Duterte\u2019s political influence and the gravity of the charges.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors maintain<\/a> that the risk factors have not changed since the original detention order, referencing Duterte\u2019s rejection of ICC jurisdiction, resistance during arrest, and Vice President Sara Duterte\u2019s public support for his release.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors further cite<\/a> Duterte\u2019s political networks and history of threats as evidence of the risk of escape or obstruction.<\/p>\n

On May 8, 2026, lawyer Nicholas Kaufman announced<\/a> his withdrawal from Duterte\u2019s case, citing the completion of his engagement and Duterte\u2019s decision to appoint new counsel. The new<\/a> counsel Peter Haynes will represent Duterte at the upcoming status conference on May 27. Dov Jacobs, Duterte\u2019s former Associate Counsel, was permitted<\/a> to step down following Duterte\u2019s request to restructure his defense team.<\/p>\n

Haynes stated<\/a> that an examination on Duterte\u2019s fitness to stand trial by \u201cindependent experts\u201d will be requested.<\/p>\n

Lawyer Kristina Conti added<\/a> that victims want the trial to start soon and seek assurances that changes will not delay proceedings.<\/p>\n

The ICC prosecutors suggested<\/a> to begin the trial on November 30, 2026; all relevant pre-trial steps are expected to be completed by September 30.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has unanimously confirmed all charges of crimes against humanity against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on April 23, 2026. There are substantial grounds to believe, according to the Pre-Trial Chamber, that Duterte is responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder, pursuant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":11088,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[64,73,58,62,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-war-on-drugs-en","category-aktuelles-en","category-human-rights-news","category-international-institutions","category-news-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13209"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13283,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13209\/revisions\/13283"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amp.ngo\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}