A GROUP of lawyers on Monday expressed strong opposition to the nomination of Palace Spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. to the International Law Commission (ILC), saying he has enabled human rights violations in the Philippines.
Mr. Roque does not possess the qualifications for a seat at the legal body responsible for codifying international rules because he has disregarded the rule of law and used his expertise “to undermine the protections that international law provides under a regime of human rights and the rule of law,” the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) said in a letter to the ILC.
“While he has degrees in law and has taught Public International Law, he is a political partisan who has actively demonstrated contempt for the rule of law and, with specific relevance to the Commission, has undermined the supremacy of human rights and international law,” FLAG said.
The 47-year-old group asked the ILC, which was formed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1947, “to peremptorily disregard the nomination of Mr. Roque and remove him from consideration for a seat in the Commission.”
FLAG attached to its letter “documented pronouncements” of Mr. Roque, in his capacity as spokesman of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, that made him unfit to become part of the ILC, whose membership is reserved to “those persons of recognized competence in both doctrinal and practical aspects of international law.”
“His public defense of extrajudicial killings, his belittling of the competence and jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and his cavalier disregard of the effects of domestic violations of human rights, among others make him ill-suited for the work of the Commission,” the group said.
Former ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda on June 14 asked the court’s pre-trial chamber to open a probe into Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs.
Mr. Roque had said that the Philippines will not cooperate with any probe by the ICC, asserting that it has no jurisdiction over the country after Manila’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute became effective in 2019.
The ICC, however, has said that the withdrawal would not affect its investigation.
On Monday, Mr. Roque confirmed being in New York City for the selection process of the ILC, which is composed of 34 members with a five-year term.
The President’s mouthpiece told a televised news briefing that he will let the states decide if he is worthy to be elected in the international legal body.
He said his platforms include an accord on equal coronavirus vaccine access and a treaty that will recognize the permanent presence of states despite the effects of global warming.
Mr. Roque, who was nominated by the Philippine government in June, is among the 11 nominees from the Asia-Pacific region. Only eight of the nominees from the region will be elected. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza