Philippines should rejoin international court, say Opposition leaders

MANILA, July 2 (AP): Opposition leaders asked new Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr have announced that to restore the country's membership in the International Criminal Court to strengthen defenses against human rights abuses.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte, whose six-year term ended on Thursday (June 30), withdrew the country’s ratification of the Rome Statute, the treaty which created the ICC, in 2019 after The Hague-based court launched a preliminary examination into thousands of killings during his campaign against illegal drugs.