Soraya Rodríguez on supporting the ICC against the Duterte regime in the Philippines.
MEP Soraya Rodríguez from Ciudadanos has called on the EU to strengthen the role of the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Rodrigo Duterte’s regime in the Philippines and also to support civil society that resists persecution, especially observers in the upcoming presidential elections in May.
“We must support the role of the ICC. It is the only guarantee that leaders can be held accountable for their actions and not sweep their crimes under the carpet of national sovereignty, as Duterte is trying to do,” he said.
In a debate in the European Parliament’s plenary, Soraya Rodríguez denounced the violence and repression exercised by the regime, that amount to crimes against humanity according to the ICC. The war on drugs has led to more than 20,000 murders since 2016, while another 166 environmental defenders have also been killed, “a sad ranking that is topped by the Philippines”.
“Society expects justice, but it is impossible because in Duterte’s Philippines, impunity has been the law, searching for the culprits has been impossible. He has made a show of not cooperating with the ICC and has turned the obstruction of justice into an electoral slogan for his campaign”, said the MEP.
She called on Brussels to suspend the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), which offers tariff preferences to developing countries to help them export, because it has become a form of support for the regime. “We must suspend the system and do it now, because otherwise the EU is showing complacency with this violence, with the repression of human rights, of the civilian population”, she demanded.
