DFA urges Senate to OK treaty on intl criminal court

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday urged the Senate to give its concurrence to the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC). “Our country is in the process of finally ratifying the Rome Statute. We’re hopeful that [the] Senate will give its concurrence [with] haste," Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said in a statement. “The position that we take on this important issue reaffirms our country’s leading role in promoting justice, peace, and the rule of law in Asia, being a model of democracy in this part of the world," he added. On May 6, President Benigno Aquino III ratified the Rome Statute. Under the 1987 Constitution, treaties ratified by the President need the concurrence of the Senate before these form part of the law of the land. The DFA said it has been an “ardent advocate of Philippine ratification of the Rome Statute through the years." In 1998, the Rome Statute was concluded by the United Nations’ Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an ICC. Some 140 nations, including the Philippines, were represented in the event. On July 1, 2002, the Rome Statute was entered into force after 60 nations became parties to the treaty. The ICC, headquartered in Hague, the Netherlands, has jurisdiction over the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression. To date, there are 116 states that have either ratified or acceded to the Rome Statute, 15 of which are from Asia and the Pacific, including Cambodia, East Timor, Korea, Australia, and Japan. — JE, GMA News