Philippines urges UN to ensure safety of peacekeepers in Syria

The Philippine government has asked the United Nations (UN) Security Council to "exert all efforts" to ensure the safety and security of all peacekeepers in Syria following the recent abduction and detention of 21 Filipinos in the Golan Heights.In a statement released on Wednesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that Ambassador Libran Cabactulan, the Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations, sent a letter to the Security Council expressing the Philippine government's "grave concern" over the incident.According to DFA, Cabactulan called on the council to exert all efforts and use its influence on all parties of the conflict in Syria to "ensure the freedom of movement and the safety and security of all UN Disengagement Observation Force (UNDOF) personnel consistent with obligations and commitments under the international law."The ambassador also asked the UN body to undertake efforts to ensure that similar incidents are avoided in the future, and to cooperate with UNDOF in its operations to ensure that the Mission is able to fulfill its mandate."We are hopeful that this call of the Philippines -- redounding as it does to the benefit of all troop contributing countries and to the effectiveness of peacekeeping missions -- will be received positively and acted on by the Security Council," Cabactulan said.21 Filipino peacekeepers were seized by Syrian rebels on March 6. After four days of negotiations, they were released by the rebels.