On Tuesday, something big happened—former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by police acting on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant. His arrest was linked to his controversial war on drugs, which led to thousands of deaths.
This is a huge victory for the ICC, an international court that tries to bring the world’s worst criminals to justice. But here’s the big question: Can the ICC really catch the world’s most wanted criminals? 
What is the ICC and What Does It Do?
The International Criminal Court (ICC) was created to punish the people responsible for the worst crimes—things like:
War crimes (hurting innocent people during wars) Genocide (trying to wipe out an entire group of people) Crimes against humanity (like mass killings or torture)
If a country doesn’t or won’t punish these criminals, the ICC steps in. But there’s a big problem—the ICC doesn’t have its own police force! 
So, how do they catch criminals? They depend on countries to arrest and hand them over.
The ICC’s Long Struggle to Arrest Criminals
Since starting in 2002, the ICC has tried to hold criminals accountable, but it’s been very difficult.
Total cases opened: 32 Still ongoing: 14 (40% of cases) Arrest warrants issued: 60 Arrests made before Duterte: 21 Total convictions: Only 11
That means most of the ICC’s wanted criminals are still free! 
Who’s On the ICC’s Most Wanted List?
These are some of the biggest names the ICC is after:
Vladimir Putin (Russia) – Accused of war crimes in Ukraine Benjamin Netanyahu (Israel) – Accused of war crimes in Gaza Joseph Kony (Ugandan warlord) – Led child soldiers and committed brutal crimes
But there’s a big problem—countries like Russia, China, Israel, and the US don’t recognize the ICC! That means they don’t have to follow its rules, making it almost impossible to arrest these criminals.
Even some ICC member countries refuse to help because they don’t like what the court is doing.
