MANILA, Philippines — After her first campaign tour in Hague, Netherlands, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, the Philippines’ candidate for Judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC), left to visit the United Nations Headquarters in New York to continue her campaign.

In support of her candidacy, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) recently hosted a luncheon attended by members of the diplomatic corps and DFA officials. DFA Secretary Albert F. del Rosario lauded Senator Santiago’s achievements as a legal expert and her impressive academic record in international law.

Santiago fulfills the requirements of the Rome Statute, being a person of high moral character, impartiality, and integrity who possesses the qualifications required by Philippine law for appointment to the highest judicial office.

She has had a distinguished career in all three branches of government as a judge, Cabinet member, and legislator. She has established competence in international humanitarian law and human rights law and has extensive experience in a professional legal capacity.

She has a Doctor of Juridical Science degree from the University of Michigan, where she was a Barbour Scholar and De Witt Fellow. She was a Visiting Law Fellow at Oxford University and a Visiting Fellow at the Lauterpacht Research Centre for International Law at Cambridge University.

The ICC is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. It came into being on July 1, 2002, the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, entered into force.

The Court’s official seat is in The Hague, Netherlands, but its proceedings may take place anywhere in the world. There are 118 states parties to the Statute of the Court, including all of South America, nearly all of Europe, and roughly half the countries in Africa. The Philippines is the 117th state party.

There are 19 candidates vying for the six seats as judges in the ICC, Santiago being one of the two women candidates. The elections are scheduled on December 12-21, 2011, at the United Nations Headquarters, New York. We wish Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago all the best and success in her candidacy as a judge for the International Criminal Court.