Today the ICJ issued an open letter to Philippine President-Elect Rodrigo Duterte, expressing concern regarding statements he made in support of reinstating the death penalty.
In the letter, the ICJ noted that the resumption of executions would constitute a violation of international law under the 2nd Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which the Philippines has ratified.
The ICJ also emphasized that there is no empirical evidence proving that the death penalty deters crime and called upon the president-elect to focus on more effective, evidence-based approaches to crime prevention.
Philippines-Letter to President Duterte-Advocacy-Open letters-2016-ENG (full text in PDF)