RP earns praise for heading UN panel

The Philippines has received praise for bringing unity to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) during its stint as president of the organization.

In a statement from New York, Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Lauro Baja Jr. said that the Philippines spearheaded the passage of five important resolutions during its month-long presidency of the UNSC, which ended last Wednesday.

Foremost among the resolutions was Resolution 1546, which endorsed the handover of sovereignty from the United States-led Coalition Provisional Authority to the Interim Iraqi government. The resolution was adopted unanimously by the UNSC on June 8.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan congratulated Baja for the adoption of the resolution, which he said is "the first time that the Security Council has come together genuinely in a long time on a difficult issue."

"We owe to you for bringing about unanimity in the Security Council," he said.

Former Sta. Lucia foreign minister Julian Hunte, the president of the 58th UN General Assembly, also hailed the Philippines for restoring the spirit of multilateralism in the UNSC.

"The Philippines will go down in history for helping bring the Security Council back together, for bringing things back to the center," he said. — Marvin Sy