Former PH officials file case vs Xi at ICC
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2019 11:16:06 +0000
Former Philippine government officials filed a communication before the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Chinese officials for implementing a “systematic plan” to control the contested South China Sea.
Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, in their communication submitted on March 15, accused Xi and other Beijing officials of “committing crimes within the jurisdiction” of the ICC.
In the document addressed to ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, del Rosario and Morales claimed that China’s plan to control the disputed waters constitute “crimes against humanity.”
The two former officials wrote in behalf of the fishermen “persecuted and injured” by officials of China.
Ex-DFA Sec. del Rosario, ex-Ombudsman Morales file communication vs Chinese Pres. Xi Jinping, other Chinese officials to ICC over its “crimes against humanity” in South China Sea. @TheManilaTimes pic.twitter.com/FEGfgs1AZQ
— Dempsey Reyes (@tmtdempseyreyes) March 21, 2019
“The situation presented is both unique and relevant in that it presents one of the most massive, near permanent and devastating destruction of the environment in humanity’s history, which has not only adversely affected and injured myriad groups of vulnerable fishermen, but present and future generations of people across nations,” they said.
Such acts, they added, “seriously undermined” food and energy security of the coastal nations in the South China Sea, which include the Philippines.
“We believe that the grave consequences of these actions justify the Honorable Court’s involvement as it affirms one of the principles of the Rome Statute that ‘the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole must not go unpunished and their effective prosecution must be ensured’,” the document read.
“We urge you to initiate preliminary examination on this matter, if only so the Court can apprise itself of Chinese crimes committed not only against the Filipino people, but also against people of other nations, which crimes are already known to the international community,” the two former officials said. “Though widely publicized, these atrociously inhumane actions of Chinese officials in the South China Sea and within Philippine territory remain unpunished, and it is only the ICC that can exact accountability on behalf of Filipinos and the international community, respecting the rule of law.” DEMPSEY REYES
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