By AFPMore by this AuthorTHE HAGUERussia dealt the International Criminal Court a fresh blow Wednesday as the court's top officials urged nations to support the tribunal hit by a wave of unprecedented defections. 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. 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.

Source: Daily Nation November 17, 2016 10:20 UTC