152 lawyers sign petition vs. Roque’s nomination to ILC

At least 152 lawyers expressed their opposition on Monday to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s nomination to the United Nations’ (UN) International Law Commission (ILC).

The lawyers asked the Permanent Missions at the UN General Assembly to give their vote to “more worthy and deserving” candidates to be a member of the distinguished international law body.

Roque is among the 11 individuals nominated under the Asia-Pacific states. Only eight of them will be picked as part of the ILC.

They emphasized Roque’s close relations with President Rodrigo Duterte, who is currently facing investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity due to his campaign against illegal drugs.

“Harry has unbelievably defended and justified President Duterte’s pronouncements enabling extrajudicial killings, attacks on the rule of law and due process and on his unacceptable positions on human rights, justice, pandemic responses and good governance,” the lawyers wrote.

They also cited his pronouncements against the ICC, UN Human Rights Council, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as his “enfeebling” of platforms for resolution of conflicts such as that of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling in favor of the Philippines’ claim on the South China Sea.

“As a lawyer, [Roque] is supposed to be a purveyor of facts and the truth and should uphold the administration of justice, a role he has sacrificed in exchange for his blind loyalty to a strongman president. We fear he will bring this with him to the ILC,” they added.

According to them, Roque has also “rationalized extrajudicial killings and tolerated the weaponization of the law against activists, dissenters and the opposition” and even publicly red-tagged those who oppose his ILC nomination.

Some of the signatories of this petition include Senator Leila de Lima, congressmen Edcel Lagman and Carlos Zarate, former representatives Neri Colmenares and Erin Tañada, deans JV Bautista and Pacifico Agabin, former Solicitor-General Joel Cadiz, former Integrated Bar of the Philippines president Ade Fajardo, former senator Wigberto Tañada, and National Union of Peoples Lawyers (NUPL) president Edre Olalia.

Sought for comment, Roque said he will issue a statement on the matter.

The election of the International Law Commission for a five-year term beginning January 2023 will be held on November 12. It will take place at the 76th session of the General Assembly.—LDF, GMA News