MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago has finished her weeklong barnstorming of the international diplomatic community and civil society groups in The Hague, Netherlands in line with her bid to become a judge in the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a report to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Philippine embassy in The Hague said that Santiago culminated her “campaign visit” with a luncheon reception on Sept. 30 attended by members of the diplomatic corps, the ICC, and civil society groups.
The Hague is home to the ICC, an independent international body separate from the United Nations system, and the first permanent international court dealing specifically with the gravest crimes facing humanity.
Santiago started her campaign with a courtesy call on ICC president Sang-hyun Song last Sept. 26 followed by meetings with ICC registrar Silvana Arbia and Judge Kuniko Ozaki.
She also held one-on-one meetings with the ambassadors of ICC States Parties in The Hague.
The senator also met with representatives of civil society groups including the Coalition for the ICC, Open Society Justice Initiative, and the Women’s Initiative for Gender Justice.
Santiago was accompanied by Ambassador Lourdes Morales.
During the meeting, the senator shared her views on some challenges facing the ICC.
The luncheon hosted by Morales in honor of Santiago was attended by ambassadors of ICC States Parties in The Hague, ICC registrar Arbia, ICC second vice president and Judge Hans-Peter Kaul, Judge Erkki Kourola, Judge Daniel David Ntanda Nsereko, and director Renan Villacis of the Secretariat of the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC.
In her speech during the reception, Santiago cited the many achievements of the ICC such as the provision of many unique mechanisms for providing support to victims and witnesses, the establishment of key mechanisms in situation countries and a vigorous outreach program.
She also pointed out the challenges the Court has to address such as state cooperation and increasing the budget of the ICC to enable it to fulfill its mandate.
“The Court must continue with what it is doing: building itself as an efficient and professional international organization, functioning as a credible international court and holding itself as a purely judicial, objective, non-political and neutral institution,” she stressed.
The election of the six vacant seats for judges of the ICC will be held on Dec. 12-21 during the 10th Session of the Assembly of States Parties in New York.