Rebecca Lozada

National Coordinator -  Philippine national Coalition for the ICC

"ASEAN owes it to the victims of atrocious crimes in the subregion to do its part to protect the gains of the Rome Statute.”

A year after Rebecca Lozada took the helm of the Philippines National Coalition for the ICC, the Philippines became the 117th ICC member state. Setting an example for the majority of states in Southeast Asia, with Rebecca's coordination Philippines civil society has been mobilizing to ensure a framework is in place to deliver those who commit the most egregious international crimes to justice.

Under Rebecca's leadership, the Philippines national Coalition for the ICC (PCICC) has been working to ensure individual perpetrators of the most heinous crimes – genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity – are brought to justice. In 2010, one year after Rebecca took up the position of National Coordinator of the PCICC, the Philippines government ratified the Rome Statute to become the 117th ICC member state.

"ASEAN owes it to the victims of atrocious crimes in the subregion to do its part to protect the gains of the Rome Statute.”

With Rebecca at the helm, PCICC has generated public awareness of the ICC in the Philippines. With Asia standing as the most underrepresented region among the ICC member states, the impact and example of Rebecca and the PCICC's work throughout the region cannot be overstated. As part of PCICC's fight to bring global justice to the Philippines, Rebecca led crucial efforts to gather support for ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC - PCICC had already in 2000 played a crucial role in the Philippines' preliminary signing of the treaty. Rebecca also promoted the integration of the principles and standards of the ICC in the Philippines judicial and legal systems.

PCICC has come to serve as an example for civil society in other Asian countries in the global justice effort. In large part due to Rebecca's commitment, the PCICC continues to assist some Asian countries in disseminating information about the ICC. PCICC published the first primer on the ICC in the Philippines, which was later reproduced and used in various parts of Asia.

Rebecca has immersed herself in various work in pursuit of international justice, including humanitarian assistance and peace building. In 2008, she was among the writers of the book Women Strategizing Justice: Women's Resource Book on Gender Justice. The book was informed by workshops conducted by PCICC with women leaders, activists and organizations.