MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has nominated presidential spokesperson Harry Roque to be part of a United Nations expert panel that develops and codifies international law.
Roque is among 11 nominees from the Asia-Pacific region to the International Law Commission, alongside nominees from Japan, China, South Korea, Thailand, Cyprus, VIetnam, India, Sri Lanka, Mongolia and Lebanon.
Related Stories
President Rodrigo Duterte’s mouthpiece stands to get elected by the UN General Assembly to the commission and become one of eight nationals from Asia-Pacific states to sit for five years in the panel beginning Jan. 1, 2023.
The ILC was instrumental in the creation of the International Criminal Court as it helped draft the statute that created the tribunal that tries genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
Roque has been on the attack against the ICC after its former prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, decided to request judicial authorization to conduct a full investigation into the alleged crimes against humanity committed during the course of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
The presidential spokesperson had taught constitutional law and public international law for 15 years at the University of the Philippines – College of Law.
He is also a member of the advisory council of the Asian Society of International Law and was its president from 2018 to 2019. — Xave Gregorio