Why former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested

Sub: IR

Sec: Int org

Context:

Rodrigo Duterte, former President of the Philippines, was arrested on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The ICC had been investigating allegations of “crimes against humanity” related to his controversial “war on drugs.”
The ICC, with 125 member countries, has international jurisdiction over crimes like genocide, war crimes, crimes of aggression, and crimes against humanity. It intervenes when national authorities are unwilling or unable to prosecute such crimes.

Background:

Duterte, who was mayor of Davao for 22 years before becoming president in 2016, gained fame for his tough stance on crime. During his presidency (2016-2022), more than 6,000 people, mostly young, poor males, were killed as part of his anti-drug campaign.
A UN report accused the police of forcing suspects into self-incrimination or facing lethal force.
Duterte denied the accusations and withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2019.

International Criminal Court (ICC):

The International Criminal Court (ICC), located in The Hague,is the court of last resort for prosecution of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
It is the first permanent, treaty based, international criminal court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.
Its founding treaty, the Rome Statute, entered into force on July 1, 2002.
The International Criminal Court can only intervene where a State is unable or unwilling genuinely to carry out the investigation and prosecute the perpetrators.
It does not have the capacity to arrest suspects and depends on member states for their cooperation.

Composition and voting power:

The Court’s management oversight and legislative body, the Assembly of States Parties, consists of one representative from each state party.
Each state party has one voteand every effort is taken to reach decisions by consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, decisions are made by vote.
The Assembly is presided over by a president and two vice-presidents, who are elected by the members to three-year terms.

How to become member of ICC:

To become a member of the ICC or State party to the Rome Statute, countries have to sign the statute and ratifyit under their respective legislatures.
125 countries are States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, with African countries making up the largest bloc.
Notably, countries including India, China, Iraq, North Korea and Turkey never signed the Rome Statute.
Others including the US, Russia, Israel and Syria signed, but never ratified