Government data suggests that at least 8663 thousand people (possibly triple that number) have been killed by police and other groups in the Philippines during President Duterte’s so-called “war on drugs”. Now, in one of her last official acts before she ends her term on Tuesday, the International Criminal Court’s Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, has asked to formally investigate these crimes.

If approved, this would increase the number of investigations in the Asia-Pacific. An ICC investigation into alleged crimes committed against the Rohingya population of Myanmar that occurred partly in Bangladesh is ongoing, alongside others considering crimes in Afghanistan and Palestine.

But the Prosecutor is also issuing a warning—the Court needs resources: “the Court today stands at a cross-roads in several concurrent situations, where the basis to proceed is legally and factually clear, but the operational means to do so are severely lacking”.

Please click here to read the full “International Criminal Court increasing its focus on the Asia Pacific” article published at fifteen eightyfour, written by Griffith Asia Institute member, Dr Emma Palmer.