Colombia is hoping to fill on open seat in the International Criminal Court (ICC) with Judge Eduardo Cifuentes Muñoz, announced the Colombian foreign minister Wednesday.
A committee made up of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin, Interior Minister German Vargas Lleras, Justice Minister Juan Carlos Esguerra, newly appointed Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon, and three ex-prosecutors will formally nominate Muñoz Thursday.
“This is the first time the country has completed this kind of process,” Holguin said. “President Juan Manuel Santos created a committee to study each of the resumes of people who have the academic, professional and international standards to be elected to a position of this nature.”
The committee members reportedly chose Muñoz for his academic and professional experience and human rights expertise.
Muñoz is the current dean of the University of the Andes Law School. He has also served as president of the Colombian Constitutional Court and the Director of Human Rights at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Elections for six new ICC judges will be held from December 12 to 21 at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. The nomination period, which began in June, closes September 2.