only in cases of self defense or when authorized by the Security Council. Because sanctions against the Syrian government are opposed by at least two permanent members of the Security Council, the UN system had been powerless to address the The legal system, after all, is only triggered by the arrest of suspected perpetrators of these crimes. humanitarian disasier takinq place in Syria. light it has taken more than three years for former ARMM Covernor Zaldy Ampatuan to be arraigned for 58 counts of murder. He still hasn't Amidst this disaster; we have opted to take been arraigned although the arraignment is actually scheduled tomorrow, despite the fact that he only has a neutral condemning the disaster itselfi purportedly to protect our OFWs in Syria. I submit that this is a terribly myopic view of what constitutes our national interesl To begin with, our failure to condemn ihe humanitarian disaster will not serue to act as armor to our OFWs who can still be hit and be killed by bullets in Syria. lt seems to me ihat the best protection of our nationals in Syria and many other troubled spots of the world, is precisely a full commitment to adhere with established rules and customs of wafare and our responsibility to protect obligations under the Vienna declaration on Human stance even in Rights. a statutory period of 90 days within which to challenge the existence of the probable cause againsi him. This should never be sanctioned again. Fufthermore, there is also the unfinished businesses of the Albarca Massacre, the February 2010 mutilation of AFp soldiers based in Basilan and the killing of civilians in Tampacan. No amount of treaty ratification will be an effective substitute for the duty to investigate, prosecute and punish individuals who violate the law and customs of warfare be they members of MILF or the Armed Forces of the Philippines. This is why the Ceneva Conventions enjoy universal Moreover, there is unfinished business that the pnoy Administration must address. There is the unfinished business In the same of the comfort women of Candaba, Pampanga, who in the twilight of their lives are still demanding justice for being victims of mass rape during World War ll While the Supreme Court in the now infamous case of Vinuya, still has to resolve a motion of reconsideration of its earlier ruling denying these women any remedy on the ground that we have signed the peace pact with japan, and we have said that we are barred from claiming the reparations as the result of whatever the Japanese Armed Forces did to our country. I submit that it is high time for the Pnoy administration to consider the plight of these women. lf the previous GMA administration refused to espouse the claims, I submit that the pnoy administration should do so. By espousing the claims not only will we uphold the absolute prohibitions on rapes during times of armed conflicl we would also be promoting the norm, that those who commit violations of IHL have the concomitant obligation to make reparation for their acts. Jovito Palparan, Joel Reyes, Ruben Ecleo must all be found, arrested, and prosecuted in courL recognition because unlike human rights laws, even non-state actors are bound by this non-derogable state code of conduct applicable to all flghters and combatants. And if for political reasons, we are unable to prosecute them, by all means we should refer this matter for prosecution in the lnternational Criminal Court For unless we ensure that all those who breach IHL will be prosecuted and punished, the law may be honored more in its breach rather than in iis compliance. you see I have a very good reason to be in awe today. Yesterday, we were excluded, today, we're So, delivering the keynote address. l'm also awed by how much we have accomplished in such a short period of time, and awed as I said, by the many challenges posed by implementing the contents of treaties and existing laws that seek to uphold the binding nature of IHL Perhaps the ultimate challenge which leaves me also in awe is how to make IHL what it is in many countries of the world, a purely academic fleld of study. This will only happen when we have achieved a just and lasting peace, when armed conflicts will remain but a mere part of our history and no longer paft of our daily lives. As a Muslim brother will say, 'lnshallah.' Itaguyod ang IHL: Sibilyan Pangalagaan