Philippines officially sends notice of plan to withdraw from ICC to the United Nations.

The Philippines said on March 16 that it has sent an official notice to the United Nations about its withdrawal from the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC).

President Duterte has officially sent notice to the UN about withdrawing from the ICC.

Specifically, in a letter sent to the United Nations (the body that oversees the agreements that established the ICC), the Philippines said it had decided to leave the court. The letter stated: "The decision to withdraw is the Philippines' firm stance against those who would politicize and weaponize human rights."

A few days earlier, Mr. Duterte announced that the Philippines would withdraw from the court after the preliminary investigation that the ICC began last month into allegations that he committed crimes against humanity during his bloody 19-month-long anti-drug campaign in the country. In the statement, the Philippine leader affirmed that the reason for withdrawing from the ICC was the baseless, unprecedented and excessive attacks by UN officials. President Duterte stressed that the ICC prosecutors' search for evidence to convict him had seriously violated the presumption of innocence. It is known that both the spokesperson and the lawyer of President Duterte emphasized that the ICC's moves were part of the plan of his enemies against Mr. Duterte.

Shortly after the ICC launched its investigation into Duterte's war on drugs on February 9, there were numerous reports in the Western media that since Duterte took office in mid-2016, Philippine police said they had killed more than 4,100 suspected drug dealers who resisted arrest. However, according to human rights groups and Western governments, the actual number is more than 12,000 people killed, most of them innocent civilians. Duterte's war on drugs has been criticized by many countries and human rights organizations. When asked about this issue, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein criticized the Philippine leader for having a psychiatric evaluation because of his war on drugs.

According to the ICC's rules, the decision to withdraw from the body will take effect one year from the date of receipt of the member state's declaration. In the event that Mr. Duterte's decision to withdraw takes effect, the Philippines will lose its membership after March 14, 2019. However, during that time, ICC investigations will continue as usual.