ICC’s Selective Scrutiny: Duterte and the Empire’s Blind Eye
The International Criminal Court is finally getting around to hearings on former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity during his brutal 'War on Drugs.' This comes after years of documented extrajudicial killings, with groups like Human Rights Watch estimating over 30,000 deaths. One might almost applaud the belated attention, if not for the glaring selective
prosecution that defines international jurisprudence. It’s a peculiar sight, isn’t it? The ICC, an institution touted as a beacon of justice, consistently finds its spotlight shining brightest on leaders who, for one reason or another, fall out of favor with the Western powers that be. Where is the same fervor for accountability when it comes to the architects of invasions in Iraq or Libya,
conflicts that claimed vastly more lives and destabilized entire regions? Or the leaders orchestrating proxy wars in Yemen? The last time the ICC issued an indictment against a sitting Western head of state was never. Remember the 1989 invasion of Panama? The U.S. launched 'Operation Just Cause' to depose Manuel Noriega, ostensibly to combat drug trafficking, a narrative eerily familiar to
Duterte’s own justification. The invasion, which killed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Panamanian civilians according to various human rights groups, never saw a single U.S. official face international prosecution. Noriega, however, spent decades in American and French prisons. The double standard is not a bug in the system; it is the core feature. This isn't about defending Duterte’s deplorable