The Philippines strongly supports the action taken by the UN Security Council in unanimously adopting a resolution declaring that attacks on UN aid workers on missions "constitute war crimes." The resolution, originally proposed last spring by Mexico, was passed Tuesday, one week after a suicide truck bomber devastated the UN mission in Iraq, killing 23 people, including 18 UN staff members and the mission's leader, Sergio Vieira de Mello.

“This resolution is a reaffirmation of the determination of the international community to bring to justice those who would attack innocent and unarmed humanitarian workers,” the Secretary said. “This resolution is a statement of the international community of the universality of their jurisdiction in crimes such as these.  The perpetrators will have no place to hide as any country can try or extradite them,” the Secretary added.

The Secretary clarified that this resolution does not create any new obligations but reaffirms existing rules on the protection of innocent civilians during times of conflict.

The Secretary also said that this resolution should not be seen as granting combatant status to the perpetrators of terrorist acts. “Those who commit these heinous acts are terrorists, plain and simple,” the Secretary said.

The Secretary noted that during the negotiations, the issue of the International Criminal Court was taken up.  On this matter, the Secretary said that the specific resolution was not the proper mechanism to address any issue relating to the implementation of the Statute of the ICC, as not all states involved are parties to the Statute.  He also said that this is perhaps not the time to inject too much politics, which can only lead to widening divisions, at a time when efforts are being taken to heal the rifts created in issues relating to Iraq. END.