According to Reuters and Bloomberg, on the 19th local time, Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), said that he would suspend the investigation into the anti-drug operation launched by Philippines President Duterte in the Philippines.
Relevant documents provided by the International Criminal Court show that the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court notified the Pre-Trial Chamber on the 18th to suspend the investigation and said that it would continue to study the relevant cases to assess the need to resume the investigation.
Since Philippines President Duterte came to power in June 2016, he has vigorously cracked down on drug crimes at home. About 12 million drug-related personnel have been arrested and thousands of drug-related personnel have died in anti-drug operations.
In February 2018, the International Criminal Court informed the Philippines government that it would launch a “preliminary investigation” into Duterte’s anti-drug crime action against human rights violations. In March of that year, the Philippines Foreign Office notified the United Nations in writing of the decision to formally withdraw from the International Criminal Court. In March 2019, the Philippines officially withdrew from the International Criminal Court.
