PH Seeks Proactive Role Of UN

MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario has urged the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to take a more pro-active position in resolving the West Philippine Sea dispute between the Philippines and China.

“Today, my country faces its most serious challenge to the security of its maritime domain and integrity of its national territory,” Del Rosario said in his address at the general debate of the 67th session of the UNGA at the UN Headquarters in New York on Monday (Tuesday Manila time). “We rely on our friends and allies and all those who believe in the peaceful and fair management of the seas and oceans to uphold the rule of law and UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea).”

“We will endeavor to elicit a more proactive action from the General Assembly.”

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), this is the “strongest principled case yet for the peaceful settlement of disputes.”

In his statement, Del Rosario called on all UN Member States to “without exception, respect the international legal framework to utilize institutions and adhere to commitments in treaties and conventions.”

He stressed that, in doing so, the international community would “create global norms that will serve our nations in good stead today and in the future” and that this will preserve “Our United Nations” which he described as “the one great institution we have charged with promoting peace and prosperity in our world.”

According to Del Rosario, the United Nations was “created to protect the weak from the strong, to provide for the equality of all sovereign states, and to enshrine the rule of law as the governing principle in regulating international disputes.”

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Article written by Roy C. Mabasa, courtesy of Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation.