Updated

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says his country is withdrawing its ratification of a world treaty that created the International Criminal Court, where he's facing a possible complaint for crimes against humanity.

An ICC prosecutor announced last month that she was opening a preliminary examination into alleged extrajudicial killings stemming from Duterte's anti-drug crackdown.

Duterte said Wednesday that the international court cannot acquire jurisdiction over him. He said the Rome Statute that established the tribunal for heinous leaders cannot be enforced in the Philippines because it has not been made public as required by law after Filipino senators ratified it in 2011.

Thousands of mostly poor drug suspects have been killed under Duterte's crackdown, but he has argued that the killings do not amount to crimes against humanity or genocide.