A Duterte appeal

The Philippines on Thursday pushed back against a Japanese NGO that asked the UN to support former President Rodrigo Duterte in his case before the ICC, saying the complaint carried little weight and was unlikely to lead to any action.

The DFA said the UN Human Rights Council simply accepted and circulated the group’s statement as part of normal procedure, not because it agreed with its claims.

The NGO, the International Career Support Association, argued before the UN that Duterte’s surrender to the ICC was politically motivated and called for his provisional release.

But the DFA said the organization had made similar claims before and none had resulted in action from the UN or its human rights offices.

Instead, the department said, official UN records show the opposite trend: repeated calls from the UN and member-states for accountability over killings linked to Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.

ICSA is a small organization based in Japan’s Nara Prefecture with consultative status at the UN Economic and Social Council, allowing it to attend meetings and submit statements to UN bodies.

That status does not mean the UN endorses its positions. Hundreds of NGOs hold similar accreditation, ranging from major international organizations to smaller advocacy groups.

According to the UN’s NGO database, ICSA lists activities in fields including human rights, education, labor and development. Its funding comes from membership dues, consulting services, sales and domestic donations.

The filing comes as Duterte’s allies continue efforts to frame the ICC case as politically driven.

Philippine officials, however, signaled Thursday that they see the Japanese NGO’s intervention as unlikely to affect proceedings either at the UN or at The Hague-based court.