Muli na namang kinilala ng pandaigdigang komunidad ang kahusayan ni Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago at inimbitahan siyang samahan si Microsoft founder Bill Gates at iba pang luminaries sa elite council of advisers para sa Rome-based International Development Law Organization (IDLO).

Bilang bahagi ng IDLO International Advisory Council, si Santiago ay magbibigay ng “critical, forward-looking guidance on the issues IDLO tackles in order to make a culture of justice real for all the people of the world,” sinabi ni IDLO Director-General Irene Khan sa kanyang liham sa senador.

Ang IDLO ay isang intergovernmental organization na nakaalay sa pagtataguyod sa rule of law. Sinabi ni Khan na ang advisory council nito ay binubuo ng “individuals of international reputation for extraordinary leadership in addressing rule of law, justice, and development issues.”

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Bukod kay Gates, ang council members ay kinabibilangan nina dating Ireland President Mary Robinson; dating Senegal President Abdou Diouf; Abdel-Latif Al-Hamad, chairman ng Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development; Albie Sachs, dating justice ng Constitutional Court of South Africa; at dating U.S. ambassador Thomas Pickering.

“I am honored yet humbled to receive the invitation from IDLO. It challenges me to place my lifetime career as a lawyer and legislator in a larger frame of service for the pursuit of justice and international development,” sabi ni Santiago.

Bago imbitahan sa IDLO Council, si Santiago ang naging unang Pilipino at Asian na nahalal bilang hukom sa International Criminal Court. Isinuko niya ang kanyang puwesto noong 2013 matapos masuring may lung cancer. Nitong Oktubre, inanunsyo ni Santiago na nagapi na niya ang sakit at tatakbong pangulo sa halalan 2016.

“If elected in May, and with the consent of IDLO, I expect to serve both as president of the Philippines and member of the International Advisory Council,” sabi ng senador. (PNA)