(CNN) Russia says it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) under a directive signed by President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the ICC had "failed to meet the expectations to become a truly independent, authoritative international tribunal," in a statement released Wednesday.

It described the ICC as "ineffective," adding that "during the 14 years of the court's work it passed only four sentences having spent over a billion dollars."

Russia also criticized the court's handling of the country's five-day conflict with neighboring Georgia in 2008, saying "we can hardly trust the ICC in such a situation."

Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte offered Putin his support before he left for APEC in Peru, also threatening to pull out of the court.

"They withdrew their membership. I might follow," he said in a statement to the media. "Why? It's us small countries that get beaten up."

He reiterated his intention to align with China and Russia. "If Russia or China will decide to create a new world order, I will be the first to join," he said.

ICC spokesman Fadi El Abdallah said in a statement that "membership of the Rome Statute is a voluntary and sovereign decision which is the prerogative of all states," adding "the ICC is respectful of each states' sovereignty."

Under Wednesday's directive, President Putin instructed his Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform the UN Secretary General that Russia no longer intends to become a state party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

Russia signed the treaty in 2000, but did not ratify it, according to the Russian Legal Information Agency. The Rome Statute has been ratified by 123 countries.

Based in the Hague, Netherlands, the ICC comprises 124 states from around the world. It is the "court of last resort" and tries four types of crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and war crimes.

The announcement comes days after the ICC published a damning verdict on Russia's actions in neighboring Crimea.

Russia annexed Crimea, a territory in the former Soviet republic of Ukraine, in 2014 following tensions with its neighbor.

Russia has carried out airstrikes in Syria since September 2015 in coordination with President Bashar al-Assad's regime. </s> The International Criminal Court has been used by real criminals to remove uncooperative leaders around the globe. Russia is leaving the fold. More African countries are leaving, too.

The Old World Order continues to crumble…

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order on Russia’s refusal to take part in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, according to a document published on the Russian government’s official portal for legal information.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Putin instructed Russia’s Foreign Ministry to send a relevant notification to the UN secretary-general. The Rome Statute, which took effect in 2002, is the basis for the International Criminal Court’s activity. Russia signed the international treaty in 2000 but has not ratified it so far. “The International Criminal Court has not justified hopes placed on it and did not become a genuinely independent and authoritative body,” the document stated.

Russia is not the first to do it in the last 2 months.

Gambia is the latest African country deciding to pull out of International Criminal Court

NAIROBI — Gambia has announced that it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court, the third African country to declare its departure in just two weeks.

Explaining the country’s decision, Information Minister Sheriff Bojang said on state television late Tuesday that the global judicial body was really “an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of color, especially Africans.”

Last week, Burundi announced its intention to leave the court, and on Friday South Africa did the same. There are worries that this could be the beginning of an African exodus from the court, a dwindling membership on a continent with a long list of conflicts and human rights abuses.

Experts believe Kenya, Namibia and Uganda could be among the next countries to leave the court.

Why is South Africa pulling out of the International Criminal Court?

South Africa announced on Friday that it would withdraw from the International Criminal Court. This makes it the second country this week to pull out, after Burundi filed to leave on Tuesday.

South Africa argues that a commitment to the peaceful resolution of conflict through dialogue involves hosting foreign leaders on its soil – including, at times, ones who have run afoul of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC binds member countries to turn in visitors wanted for alleged crimes, however.

The departures may be a sign that some African nations have lost faith in the ICC. The Court has faced repeated criticism for allegedly pursuing its own agenda with court cases, which some Africans believe disproportionately target the continent.

All but one of the ICC’s 10 investigations have been based in Africa. All five of the Court’s substantive verdicts have been against African suspects. Though cases against non-African countries, including Britain, are undergoing preliminary examinations, the trend has led to calls for an African regional court.

The push to leave the ICC began when the Court indicted Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta in 2007, charging him with crimes against humanity after more than 1,000 people died in post-election violence. The case ultimately failed because of lobbying, bribery, and allegations that witnesses had been intimidated. But it frustrated African countries, which largely saw the charges against Kenyatta – a sitting president – as a form of international intervention in the affairs of a sovereign country.

This existence of this grossly lopsided world criminal court was ratified by Russia and 120 others, but not the United States and Israel.

The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal that sits in The Hague in the Netherlands. The ICC has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The ICC is intended to complement existing national judicial systems and it may therefore only exercise its jurisdiction when certain conditions are met, such as when national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute criminals or when the United Nations Security Council or individual states refer investigations to the Court. The ICC began functioning on 1 July 2002, the date that the Rome Statute entered into force.

The Rome Statute established four core international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crime of aggression.

Following years of negotiation, aimed at establishing a permanent international tribunal to prosecute individuals accused of genocideand other serious international crimes, such as crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression, the United Nations General Assembly convened a five-week diplomatic conference in Rome in June 1998 “to finalize and adopt a convention on the establishment of an international criminal court”.[9][10]

On 17 July 1998, the Rome Statute was adopted by a vote of 120 to 7, with 21 countries abstaining.[6] Because the way each delegation voted was officially unrecorded, there is some dispute over the identity of the seven countries that voted against the treaty.[11] It is certain that the People’s Republic of China, Israel, and the United States were three of the seven because they have publicly confirmed their negative votes; India, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen have been identified by various observers and commentators as possible sources for the other four negative votes, with Iraq, Libya, Qatar, and Yemen being the four most commonly identified.[11]

On 11 April 2002, ten countries ratified the statute at the same time at a special ceremony held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City,[12] bringing the total number of signatories to sixty, which was the minimum number required to bring the statute into force, as defined in Article 126.[3] The treaty entered into force on 1 July 2002;[12] the ICC can only prosecute crimes committed on or after that date.[13] The statute was modified in 2010 after the Review Conference in Kampala, Uganda, but the amendments to the statute that were adopted at that time are not effective yet.

The Rome Statute is the result of multiple attempts for the creation of a supranational and international tribunal.

The ICC is a major component of the planned New World Order administered by a One World Government controlled by the Vatican.

The monopoly of Africans in the List of Indictees and Convicted [here], and the absence of any case filed against the perpetrators of the “war of terror” strongly indicate that this is not a court of justice at all.

So, that, the only recourse is to create our own independent Tribunal…

Lawsuit Against Bush and Blair for War Crimes? International Lawyers Seek Justice for Iraqis

International lawyers and activists converged at a conference titled The Iraq Commission, in Brussels, Belgium, April 16 and 17, with the primary aim of bringing to justice government officials who are guilty of war crimes in Iraq.

“Within a few days of this, a lawless atmosphere developed within my unit,” Ross Caputi, a former marine who took part in the brutal November 2004 siege of Fallujah told the Iraq Commission. “There was a lot of looting going on. I saw people searching the pockets of the dead resistance fighters for money. Some people were mutilating corpses.”

The conference represents the most powerful and most current organized attempt in the world to bring justice to those responsible for the catastrophe in Iraq, and included powerful international lawyers like International Court of Justice lawyer Curtis Doebbler and Louie Roberto Zamora Bolanos, a lawyer from Costa Rica who successfully sued the government of his country for supporting the war in Iraq.

Their goal for the conference was to begin taking concrete steps toward international lawsuits that will bring former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and former US President George W. Bush, along with those responsible in their administrations, to justice for the myriad war crimes committed in Iraq.

… While the United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court, former president George W. Bush, along with several members of his cabinet including Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice, to name but a few, are guilty of war crimes for their roles in creating the conditions for the invasion and occupation of Iraq, according to lawyers at the conference.

“Lest current events cloud principles, and in order to restore focus on the rules of international rules, such as state responsibility, human rights, war crimes, crimes against humanity, there will be no justice for the victims of this crime against peace,” Al-Mukhtar stated, in concluding his opening remarks. “We will discuss practical approaches to ensure accountability and put an end to impunity.”

Tun Mahatir Muhammad, the fourth prime minister of Malaysia (and also the longest-serving prime minister of the country), backs the Kuala Lumpur Initiative to Criminalize War, which aims to make all acts of war illegal. Mahatir provided the conference a video message for the occasion.

“We must criminalize war because we consider the killing of one person by another as murder, and we are even prepared to punish him by taking his life,” Mohammed said. “But if you kill a million people in war, it is glorified, and the killers are given medals and statues and honored. There is a contradiction here, and it is time that killing be made a crime, whether it be in peace or in war. And if it is a crime, whoever starts an aggressive war should be considered a criminal and tried in a court of law. That is why our tribunal has tried Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair and found them both guilty as war criminals.”

… “This ‘war without borders’ is being carried out at the crossroads of the most serious economic crisis in world history, which has been conducive to the impoverishment of large sectors of the world population,” he said. “The Pentagon’s global military design is one of world conquest. The killing of civilians is part of that agenda. The US agenda in the Middle East is to change countries into territories, this is the basis of destabilizing country after country across the world, and instituting PAX Americana.”

Chossudovsky believes that US worldwide militarization is part of a global economic agenda, and the invasion of Iraq was but one component of this agenda.

… the importance of the commission and of the work activists and lawyers have ahead of them, as they strive to bring justice to George W. Bush, Tony Blair and all other members of their cabinets who are responsible for the violations of international law that have occurred, and continue to occur, in Iraq.

“There has been a rollback of international law,” Nijar explained. “And this is why the role of the people’s tribunal now takes on an important role. Because the people alone are the motivating force in making world history.”

In short, it is a modern day Jesuit Inquisition aimed at eliminating all enemies of the Holy Crown.

Can we expect a Donald Trump to rise to the occasion and bring justice to the people of Iraq, and for all those Americans who died during and after WTC 911, by going against his own party by ordering the arrest and prosecution of the Bushes, et.al.?

Will he follow other world leaders who are already moving away from the Pyramid of Satanists into Knights of the Roundtable, in order to create a multipolar world?

Aside from the fiat monetary scam and bloodsoaked petrodollar, another significant source of funds for the Nazionist Khazarian Mafiais the “healthcare” industry which registered a whopping $3.09 trillion in 2014, and is projected to soar to $3.57 trillion in 2017, in the US alone. We believe that this is just a conservative figure.

We can all help the revolution by avoiding all Khazarian pharmaceutical drugs, defeat any viral attack and scaremongering, like the Zika virus, easily by knowing how to build our own comprehensive antiviral system. Find more about how we can kill three birds with one stone, right here. </s> Moscow has never ratified the world's only permanent war crimes court, but in a heavily symbolic move on the opening day of the ICC's annual meeting, it said it was formally withdrawing its signature to the tribunal's founding Rome Statute.

"The court did not live up to the hopes associated with it and did not become truly independent," Russia's foreign ministry said, describing its work as "one-sided and inefficient".

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday threatened to follow in Russia's footsteps and pull his country out of the ICC, incensed at foreign criticism of his deadly drug war.

Speaking in his home town of Davao city in the southern Philippines shortly before flying to Peru for a regional summit, Duterte said: "They (Russians) may have thought the International Criminal Court is (useless), so they withdrew their membership."

The Philippines is among 124 countries that are members of the UN-backed ICC, the world's only permanent war crimes court.

The move by Russia to pull out of the ICC came only days after The Gambia on Monday formally notified the United Nations it was leaving the international court, following in the footsteps of South Africa and Burundi.

"In a world criss-crossed by violent extremism... it is urgent and necessary to defend the ideal of justice for all."

The tribunal opened in 2002 in The Hague as a court of last resort to try the world's worst crimes where national courts are unable or unwilling to act.

With Russia and China having blocked UN moves to refer war crimes in Syria to the ICC for investigation, Kaba acknowledged some believed international justice was marred by double standards.

There have long been accusations of bias against African nations. And Kenya, Namibia and Uganda have also indicated they are considering pulling out of the Rome Statute.

South Africa's Justice Minister Michael Masutha told the assembly the decision to quit "was not taken lightly" by his country, which had played a major role in drawing up the founding statute.

He argued South Africa had been treated unfairly by the court when it did not arrest visiting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, even though the ICC has issued an international warrant for his arrest on war crimes charges.

Pretoria had found itself caught in a dilemma, with "conflicting obligations" to uphold both the ICC's rules and international law granting immunity to heads of state, Masutha said, adding his country "would not become a safe haven for fugitives." </s> Vladimir Putin has signed an order to have Russia withdrawn from the International Criminal Court (ICC) amid calls for his military to be referred over air strikes backing President Bashar al-Assad in Syria and the annexation of Crimea.

The President instructed Russia's foreign ministry to notify the United Nations of the country's refusal to be subject to the body's activity on Wednesday, following the same move by Gambia, South Africa and Burundi.

State media reported that the government was pulling out of the 2002 Rome Statute, which establishes the International Criminal Court's status and powers, although the Kremlin never ratified the agreement it signed in 2000.

We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 USD 0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.

“The International Criminal Court has not justified hopes placed upon it and did not become a truly independent and authoritative judicial body,” a spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry said.

A statement claimed that Russia "consistently advocates that people guilty of grave offences must be held accountable" and took part in developing laws against genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Francois Hollande, the President of France, called suggested that Russia should face war crimes charges over its bombardment of rebel-held eastern Aleppo last month.

“These are people who today are the victims of war crimes,” he told French television amid hundreds of reported civilian deaths.

“Those that commit these acts will have to face up to their responsibility, including in the ICC.”

Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria Show all 19 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Russian air strikes in Syria 1/19 Syrian boys cry following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty 2/19 Russian defense ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. Konashenkov strongly warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces and issued a thinly-veiled threat to use Russian air defense assets to protect them AP 3/19 Syrians wait to receive treatment at a hospital following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Alepp Getty 4/19 Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov speaks at a briefing in the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia. Antonov said the Russian air strikes in Syria have killed about 35,000 militants, including about 2,700 residents of Russia AP 5/19 Jameel Mustafa Habboush, receives oxygen from civil defence volunteers, known as the white helmets, as they rescue him from under the rubble of a building following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty 6/19 Civil defence members rest amidst rubble in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters 7/19 A girl carrying a baby inspects damage in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters 8/19 Civilians and civil defence members look for survivors at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters 9/19 Civilians and civil defence members carry an injured woman on a stretcher at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters 10/19 Volunteers from Syria Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, help civilians after Russia carried out its first airstrikes in Syria 11/19 The aftermath of Russian airstrike in Talbiseh, Syria 12/19 Smoke billows from buildings in Talbiseh, in Homs province, western Syria, after airstrikes by Russian warplanes AP 13/19 Russian Air Forces carry out an air strike in the ISIS controlled Al-Raqqah Governorate. Russia's KAB-500s bombs completely destroy the Liwa al-Haqq command unit 14/19 Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria Â© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis 15/19 Russia claimed it hit eight Isis targets, including a "terrorist HQ and co-ordination centre" that was completely destroyed 16/19 A video grab taken from the footage made available on the Russian Defence Ministry's official website, purporting to show an airstrike in Syria 17/19 A release from the Russian defence ministry purportedly showing targets in Syria being hit 18/19 Russia launched air strikes in war-torn Syria, its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979. Russian warplanes carried out strikes in three Syrian provinces along with regime aircraft as Putin seeks to steal US President Barack Obama's thunder by pushing a rival plan to defeat Isis militants in Syria 19/19 Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria, a thousand kilometres away. The targets include ammunition factories, ammunition and fuel depots, command centres, and training camps Â© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis 1/19 Syrian boys cry following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty 2/19 Russian defense ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov speaks to the media in Moscow, Russia. Konashenkov strongly warned the United States against striking Syrian government forces and issued a thinly-veiled threat to use Russian air defense assets to protect them AP 3/19 Syrians wait to receive treatment at a hospital following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Alepp Getty 4/19 Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov speaks at a briefing in the Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia. Antonov said the Russian air strikes in Syria have killed about 35,000 militants, including about 2,700 residents of Russia AP 5/19 Jameel Mustafa Habboush, receives oxygen from civil defence volunteers, known as the white helmets, as they rescue him from under the rubble of a building following Russian air strikes on the rebel-held Fardous neighbourhood of the northern embattled Syrian city of Aleppo Getty 6/19 Civil defence members rest amidst rubble in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters 7/19 A girl carrying a baby inspects damage in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria Reuters 8/19 Civilians and civil defence members look for survivors at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters 9/19 Civilians and civil defence members carry an injured woman on a stretcher at a site damaged after Russian air strikes on the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria Reuters 10/19 Volunteers from Syria Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, help civilians after Russia carried out its first airstrikes in Syria 11/19 The aftermath of Russian airstrike in Talbiseh, Syria 12/19 Smoke billows from buildings in Talbiseh, in Homs province, western Syria, after airstrikes by Russian warplanes AP 13/19 Russian Air Forces carry out an air strike in the ISIS controlled Al-Raqqah Governorate. Russia's KAB-500s bombs completely destroy the Liwa al-Haqq command unit 14/19 Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria Â© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis 15/19 Russia claimed it hit eight Isis targets, including a "terrorist HQ and co-ordination centre" that was completely destroyed 16/19 A video grab taken from the footage made available on the Russian Defence Ministry's official website, purporting to show an airstrike in Syria 17/19 A release from the Russian defence ministry purportedly showing targets in Syria being hit 18/19 Russia launched air strikes in war-torn Syria, its first military engagement outside the former Soviet Union since the occupation of Afghanistan in 1979. Russian warplanes carried out strikes in three Syrian provinces along with regime aircraft as Putin seeks to steal US President Barack Obama's thunder by pushing a rival plan to defeat Isis militants in Syria 19/19 Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy firing Kalibr cruise missiles against remote Isis targets in Syria, a thousand kilometres away. The targets include ammunition factories, ammunition and fuel depots, command centres, and training camps Â© TASS/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis

It was the latest call parties in the conflict to be prosecuted by the ICC, after Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to refer the Assad regime in 2014.

Both Russian and Syria have denied deliberately killing civilians or breaking international law in the Syrian civil war, saying they are targeting terrorist groups.

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued an appeal to all countries attempting to withdraw from the ICC on Wednesday.

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He said those making the attempt were seeking to “desert victims of the most abominable international crimes” and could not claim their action was based on principle.

“If the State Parties, who apparently have been masquerading in recent years as countries devoted to criminal accountability, want to leave, then they should leave,” Mr al-Hussein added.

“But we are not convinced their position is based entirely on principle. Quite the opposite: it appears to aim more at protecting their leaders from prosecution.”

The commissioner said there was “no substitute” for the ICC, which he hopes will be eventually accepted universally.

“By withdrawing from the Rome Statute, leaders may shield themselves with immunities – but it will be at the cost of depriving their people of the protection of a unique and essential institution,” he warned.

“We face a choice. We can safeguard our societies by standing firm on the principles of justice which anchor this institution.

“Or we can cast away the moorings of law laid down to save the world from horror – and turn away from the screams, as impunity overwhelms men, women and children in wave upon wave of violence.”

The ICC is intended to prosecute and bring to justice those responsible for the worst violations of international law - genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

But far only African defendants have been put on trial and a number of countries including the US, China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Turkey have not signed the treaty.

Like Russia - Egypt, Iran and Israel signed but failed to ratify the agreement, making it unlikely their governments could ever be prosecuted by the court. </s> THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Supporters of the International Criminal Court appealed for unity Wednesday in the aftermath of three African nations announcing plans to withdraw and Russia symbolically turning its back on the court.

The departures of the African states — South Africa, Burundi and Gambia — buzzed through the corridors on the first day of the annual meeting of the court's member states, the Assembly of States Parties, in The Hague. Before their announcements, no country had ever left the court, which was set up in 2002 as the first criminal tribunal with a global reach.

Russia snubbed the court Wednesday when President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to withdraw from the court. However Moscow never ratified the Rome Statute that created the court, despite signing the treaty in 2000, meaning Russia wasn't a member.

The court's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, sought to downplay the impact of the departures, saying, "this is not a crisis for the Rome Statute system, but a set-back in our joint efforts towards achieving a more peaceful and just world."

Bensouda, who comes from Gambia, said that "to address these crimes and deliver justice to victims across the world, it is essential that states' participation in the Rome Statute is not only maintained and reinforced, but enlarged."

Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion used his speech to the 124-nation assembly to deliver an impassioned plea for support for the court, saying it is necessary to ensure accountability for those who commit the most serious crimes.

"We created the court together. We must keep it together," he said.

But South African Justice Minister Michael Mathura continued his country's criticism of the court, saying it is ignoring atrocities in other parts of the world. All but one of the court's full-scale investigations are in Africa, though the majority were referred to the court by the African countries themselves and two by the U.N. Security Council.

"They choose to turn a blind eye and rather focus on one geopolitical space to the exclusion of all others," Mathura told reporters in The Hague. "That, they must explain. The principle of universality of the application of rule of law has to be at the heart of the institution. If they are not willing to uphold that principle, their credibility will continue to be eroded."

The court has been criticized for not stepping in to prosecute atrocities in Syria, but it doesn't have automatic jurisdiction there as the country is not a member of the ICC. A resolution by the U.N. Security Council to refer the Syrian war to the ICC was vetoed in May 2014 by Russia and China.

The African anger also stems from the fact that the ICC went after two sitting heads of state in the continent, Kenya's Uhuru Kenyatta and Omar al-Bashir of Sudan. The court ultimately withdrew all charges against Kenyatta while al-Bashir remains a fugitive.

Human Rights Watch urged member states not to water down the court's core principles, such as its refusal to recognize head of state immunity, in a bid to prevent more departures.

"The ICC withdrawals risk becoming a bargaining chip by countries looking to make the world safer for abusive dictators," said Elizabeth Evenson, HRW's associate international justice director. She urged ICC members to "make clear the court's mandate is not up for sale."

Putin's decree, published on the Kremlin's website, came a day after the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee condemned Russia's "temporary occupation of Crimea" and blamed Russia for rights abuses such as discrimination against some Crimean residents.

Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014 from Ukraine following a hastily called referendum, a move that led to crippling Western sanctions. A separatist insurgency erupted in eastern Ukraine the following month, backed by Russia.

The ICC on Monday issued a preliminary report where it described what happened in Crimea as "an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation."

"Russia never demonstrated any genuine intention to ratify the Rome Statute, and this announcement appears as nothing but contempt for the aims of the ICC - putting an end to impunity for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity - and is an affront to all victims of these appalling crimes," Sergei Nikitin, Director of Amnesty International Russia, said in a statement.

Associated Press writer Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow contributed to this report. </s> Russian President Vladimir Putin heads a meeting on military industry issues in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016.

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Wednesday to withdraw Russia from the International Criminal Court, which rules on such grave charges as genocide and crimes against humanity.

Russia in 2000 signed the Rome treaty that established the Hague-based court but never ratified it.

Putin's decree, published on the Kremlin's website, comes a day after the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee approved a resolution condemning Russia's "temporary occupation of Crimea" and blamed Russia for rights abuses such as discrimination against some Crimean residents, such as Tatars.

Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014 from Ukraine following a hastily called referendum, a move that led to crippling Western sanctions. A separatist insurgency erupted in eastern Ukraine the following month, backed by Russia.

The ICC on Monday issued a preliminary report where it described what happened in Crimea as "an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation."

His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, explained the withdrawal by "national interests" and argued that since Russia never ratified it Wednesday's decree was just a formality. Peskov also dismissed the ICC's accusations of an "armed conflict" in Crimea, arguing that Crimea joined Russia after a legitimate popular vote.

Russia's foreign ministry insisted in a statement that Russia wants everyone implicated in grave international crimes to face justice but expressed frustration over the court's work in recent years.

"The court has unfortunately failed to match the hopes one had and did not become a truly independent and respected body of international justice," the ministry said, adding that in the ICCs' 14 years of work "only four verdicts" have been passed while $1 billion was spent on expenses.

Just hours before Russia's announcement, the U.N. human rights chief made a spirited defense of the ICC, entreating countries not to leave it. Several African nations have recently announced plans to leave the treaty.

Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report. </s> MANILA, March 14 (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will withdraw his country's ratification of the International Criminal Court's (ICC) Rome Statute, due to what he said were attacks by United Nations officials and violations of due process by the ICC, according to a draft statement.

The statement, which had yet to be signed by Duterte, was given to reporters by presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo, who confirmed to Reuters that the document was authentic.

It said the move was due to the "baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks on my person as well as against my administration" by U.N. officials, and what he said was an attempt by the ICC prosecutor to seek jurisdiction over him "in violation of due process and presumption of innocence".

The ICC last month started a preliminary examination to establish whether crimes against humanity may have taken place during Duterte's deadly war on drugs, and whether the ICC had jurisdiction to take on the case. A complaint was filed with the ICC by a Philippine lawyer last year. </s> Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has announced that the country will withdraw from the International Criminal Court "effective immediately", just weeks after the tribunal announced its investigation into possible crimes against humanity over his deadly war on drugs.

In a statement signed by Duterte on Wednesday, he declared that The Hague-based organisation "has no jurisdiction nor will it acquire jurisdiction" over him.

The Philippines is a signatory to the Rome Statute, a multilateral treaty that created the international court.

But Duterte said the treaty "is not effective nor enforceable in the Philippines".

"An international law cannot supplant, prevail or diminish a domestic law," he said, adding that the ICC announcement of an investigation on the drug war is a "violation of due process and constitutional presumption of innocence".

Under the treaty, withdrawal is only effective one year after a country gives written notice of its decision to the UN secretary-general. A signatory country also can "not be discharged" of any cases already pending in the court before the withdrawal.

Duterte, however, argued that there was "fraud" committed in the process of making the Philippines sign the agreement. Thus Manila has the right to withdraw "effective immediately".

In response to Duterte's decision, a majority of the Philippine senators signed a resolution declaring that termination or withdrawal from the agreement is only "valid and effective" with their consent. The Philippine Senate was responsible for ratifying the international treaty.

In February, the ICC announced that it had taken the first step to probe Duterte over possible crimes against humanity in relation to his ongoing drug war, which has left as many as 20,000 people dead.

The case stems from a complaint filed before the international court in 2017 accusing the Philippine president of ordering the killings "repeatedly, unchangingly, and continuously".

Duterte said that even if the ICC has jurisdiction over him, the accusations against him "do not fall under the enumerated grounds" of the international law.

"The acts allegedly committed by me are neither genocide nor war crimes. Neither is it a crime of aggression or a crime against humanity," he said.

He also defended the police officers involved in the deadly drug operations, saying they "lacked the intent to kill".

According to police reports, 3,967 "drug personalities" were killed for "resisting arrest" during police operations between July 1, 2016, and November 27, 2017.

But an opposition senator said the death toll in the drug war had surpassed 20,000, since Duterte came to office on June 30, 2016.

An Al Jazeera investigation also revealed that police officers were involved in attempted killings of unarmed drug suspects. Al Jazeera also recorded cases of children being killed by police officers.

On Wednesday, Senator Antonio Trillanes said that by withdrawing from the ICC, Duterte "has practically admitted that he is guilty of the allegations filed against him".

"The day of reckoning is near," he said in a statement.

In a statement to Al Jazeera, Param-Preet Singh, associate director at the Human Rights Watch's International Justice programme, said Duterte's decision was not surprising as he "has long showed disdain for the rule of law".

"Duterte’s statement highlights the urgent need for a UN-led investigation into the drug war killings," Singh said, adding that an inquiry would add international pressure on the Philippine government to stop the killings.

On Wednesday, Duterte said the ICC "is being utilised as a political tool against the Philippines".

In recent days, Duterte had also attacked the international human rights officials involved in the investigation, calling Agnes Callamard, UN special rapporteur to the Philippines, as "skinny" and "malnourished", and referred to Fatou Bensouda, the ICC prosecutor investigating the drug war, as "that black woman".

That prompted Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to denounce Duterte's statement as "disgraceful" while calling for his "psychiatric evaluation".

This story has been updated to include the comment of Philippine Senator Antonio Trillanes and Human Rights Watch </s> The US national security adviser, John Bolton, will adopt an aggressive posture against the international criminal court (ICC), threatening sanctions against its judges if they proceed with an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Americans in Afghanistan.

Bolton is to make the announcement to the Federalist Society, a conservative group, in Washington on Monday. It will be his first major address since joining Donald’s Trump White House.

“The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court,” Bolton will say, according to a draft of his speech.

He will also say that the state department will announce the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) office in Washington out of concern about Palestinian attempts to prompt an ICC investigation of Israel.

The PLO office in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“The United States will always stand with our friend and ally, Israel,” Bolton’s draft text states. It says the Trump administration “will fight back” if the international criminal court, which is based in The Hague in the Netherlands, formally proceeds with opening an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by US service members and intelligence professionals during the war in Afghanistan.

If such an inquiry proceeds, the Trump administration will consider banning judges and prosecutors from entering the US, put sanctions on any funds they have in the US financial system and prosecute them in the American court system.

“We will not cooperate with the ICC. We will provide no assistance to the ICC. We will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us,” Bolton’s draft text states.

In addition, the US may negotiate more binding, bilateral agreements to prohibit countries from surrendering Americans to the court, the text says.

The court’s aim is to bring to justice the perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The US did not ratify the Rome treaty that established the court in 2002, with then-President George W Bush opposed to the court. Barack Obama took some steps to cooperate with the organisation.

“We will consider taking steps in the UN security council to constrain the court’s sweeping powers, including to ensure the ICC does not exercise jurisdiction over Americans and the nationals of our allies that have not ratified the Rome statute,” Bolton’s draft text says.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a symbolic order to withdraw Russia's signature from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) amid calls by pro-rebel western Non-governmental organisations for an investigation into alleged Russian war crimes in Syria.