The International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) welcomes the arrest of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte pursuant to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes committed in connection with his 'war on drugs' campaign. This arrest marks a major step towards justice for the thousands of victims of his brutal regime.
On 11 March 2025, Mr Duterte was arrested by authorities in Manila and flown to the Hague, where he was surrendered to the custody of the ICC. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance before the ICC in the coming days to be formally charged with the crime against humanity of murder, for acts committed in the Philippines between 2011 and 2019.
His leadership - as founder of the Davao Death Squad, Mayor of Davao City and later President of the Philippines - was marked by a highly repressive 'war on drugs' campaign that claimed the lives of between 6,000 (according to police statistics) and 30,000 (according to human rights organisations) people. Extrajudicial killings of suspects, carried out by police or government-directed death squads, became the norm, with Filipinos waking up daily to news of new executions. The vast majority of victims in this ruthless crackdown came from marginalised communities, and many of those executed without due process were children. Journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders seeking to expose the government's crimes or restore the rule of law in the country were swiftly silenced - often by the barrel of a gun. For years, fear was the regime's primary currency, shaping a nation gripped by violence and impunity.
In 2018, the ICC opened a preliminary examination of crimes against humanity committed in connection with the Philippines' 'war on drugs'. Shortly thereafter, then-president Duterte, in an attempt to evade accountability, withdrew the Philippines from the Rome Statute , the ICC's founding treaty. However, this manoeuvre does not affect the validity of the arrest warrant against him, as it pertains to crimes committed between 2011 and 2019, when the Philippines was still a State Party to the ICC.
IBAHRI Co-Chair, Mark Stephens CBE commented: 'Duterte always believed himself untouchable - until he wasn't. At 79, he now faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted. The fair and independent ICC will assess the extremely serious charges against him, in full accordance with the law and his right to a fair trial.
This should raise alarm bells for all authoritarian leaders sitting on their thrones, thinking that they are above the law. They are not. International justice may be a long and winding road but, eventually, it reaches its destination.
Duterte's arrest is only a first step in this direction, but it builds on years of brave documentation and advocacy by victims, journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders and many more. It is thanks to the bravery and resilience of the people of the Philippines that this case stands on such strong ground.'
In June 2024, the IBAHRI participated in an international fact-finding mission on extrajudicial killings and other serious human rights violations committed against the legal profession in the Philippines. The IBAHRI worked with victims, their legal representatives and Filipino institutions to gather evidence not only of the crimes themselves, but also of the entrenched culture of impunity that enabled them. It emerged that the country lacks an institutional framework capable of conducting effective investigations into potentially unlawful deaths - an ongoing gap that must be addressed to ensure that domestic accountability mechanisms can complement the work of the ICC. While Duterte was the mastermind, granting his squads a license to kill, he did not act alone. Others who planned and enforced this brutal policy must also have their individual responsibility assessed through a fair and impartial legal process.
IBAHRI Co-Chair, Hina Jilani stated: 'Duterte's arrest is a significant first step in bringing the victims of his brutal 'war on drugs' closer to justice. I commend President Marcos Jr for complying with Interpol's arrest warrant and encourage his government to fully cooperate with the ICC and rejoin the Rome Statute. The IBAHRI urges President Marcos Jr to repeal the laws and administrative orders that allowed for serious crimes to be perpetrated and encourages his government to work toward aligning the country's accountability mechanisms with international standards.'
IBAHRI Council member, recipient of the 2020 IBA Human Rights Award and former three-term member of the Congress of the Philippines, Neri Javier Colmenares, added: 'As counsel to the families of drug war victims who filed the communication complaint in the ICC in 2018, we welcome the arrest of former president Duterte as a significant milestone that gives hope to the thousands of families who lost their loved ones during his brutal reign.
This sends a powerful message to those in power who continue to violate human rights, that justice will ultimately hold them accountable. We hope the ICC will also hold to account former president Duterte's co-perpetrators who remain powerful in the Philippines today. This initial step at justice could not have been achieved without the perseverance of human rights advocates in the Philippines and with the support of human rights groups abroad.
The arrest of Duterte is about justice and accountability, a principle that IBAHRI ardently holds as it continues to assert the respect for human rights anywhere in the world.'
