Capulong gets seat in UN war crime body

Human rights lawyer Romeo Capulong has won a seat in the United Nations tribunal that will hear war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, getting the third most number of votes among 57 nominees for the panel’s 27 slots for ad litem judges.

Ad litem judges can be called upon to try specific cases involving violations of the international humanitarian law in the former Yugoslavia since 1991.

Capulong, according to the Philippine mission to the UN, garnered 141 of a total 171 votes, ranking third behind Singapore’s Amarjeet Singh and Japan’s Chikako Taya. Ninety-six votes were enough to win the nomination.

All five Asian nominees were elected to the tribunal as ad litem judges.

The former Estrada administration nominated Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago to be a permanent judge in the tribunal.

The Department of Foreign Affairs later withdrew her nomination, and considered Capulong to take her place. But time constraints stalled the plan, and the DFA instead nominated him to be a member of the pool of ad litem judges.

The UN Security Council established the panel, called the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, based in The Hague, Netherlands, in 1993. — Aurea Calica