Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada welcomes the arrest of former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila on 11 March 2025. He is now in the custody of the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity during his time as president from 2016 to 2022 and while mayor of Davao City.
During the 2016 election campaign, Duterte said, “forget about human rights.” He launched widespread extra-judicial killings carried out by death squads, ostensibly as part of a ‘war on drugs’. More that 6,000 people were killed including many lawyers and judges whose advocacy or decisions threatened exposure of, or accountability for, Duterte’s crimes. The charges stem from actions taken as Mayor and as President prior to Philippines withdrawal from the Rome Statute in 2019.
LRWC published many reports, statements and other communications – including representations to the UN Human Rights Council – identifying extra-judicial killings of lawyers, judges and other human rights defenders and calling for Duterte’s arrest and for the investigations and remedies required by international law.
