06 May 2002
United States Formally Renounces International Criminal Court Treaty
(Treaty flawed in many regards, Ambassador Prosper says) (640)
By Merle D. Kellerhals, Jr.
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The United States has formally renounced any involvement
in the 1998 Rome Treaty that created the new International Criminal
Court, a senior State Department official said May 6.
"Today, at the request of the president, our Mission [at] the United
Nations deposited a note with the U.N. secretary-general as the
depository of the Rome Treaty creating the International Criminal
Court (ICC), stating that the United States does not intend to become
a party to the ICC treaty," Ambassador Pierre-Richard Prosper said at
a Washington Foreign Press Center briefing. "And, accordingly, [the
United States] has no legal obligation as a result of our signature
[to the treaty] as of December 31, 2000."
In 1998, a U.N. conference in Rome of diplomatic representatives from
160 countries adopted a treaty, known as the "Rome Statute," which
creates a permanent International Criminal Court. Previously,
tribunals were created for special situations -- such as the 1994
Rwanda genocide and war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. The new court
was created as a permanent forum to try cases involving charges of
genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of
aggression.
The Rome Treaty would enter into force when 60 nations send
instruments of ratification to the U.N. On April 11 the U.N. had
received notification of ratification from 66 nations, so the treaty
enters into force July 1. The United States voted against adoption of
the Rome Treaty four years ago.
When President Clinton signed the treaty December 31, 2000, he
reiterated U.S. concern over "significant flaws" in the accord, but
said he hoped that signing it would give the United States an
opportunity to help fix it. U.S. officials say this did not occur.
Clinton said then that he would not send the treaty to the Senate for
ratification in its current form, and recommended to the incoming Bush
administration that it also not send it forward to the Senate.
Secretary of State Colin Powell said May 5 on the ABC News television
program "This Week" that "since we have no intention of ratifying it,
it is appropriate for us, because we have such serious problems with
the ICC, to notify the Depository Secretary General that we do not
intend to ratify it; therefore, we are no longer bound in any way to
its purpose and objective," Powell said.
Nevertheless, Prosper said the United States remains firmly committed
to international accountability for war crimes, genocide, and crimes
against humanity.
"We took this rare ... but not unprecedented action today in order to
give us the flexibility to protect our interests and the flexibility
to pursue alternative approaches," Prosper said. "In support of this
alternative mechanism, the United States will be prepared to support
politically, financially, technically and logistically any ...
post-conflict state that seeks to credibly pursue accountability for
violations of humanitarian law."
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman said
earlier May 6 that the Rome Treaty undermines the role of the U.N.
Security Council in maintaining international peace and security,
creates a prosecutorial system that is an unchecked power, and
threatens U.S. sovereignty as well as the sovereignty of any nation
that has not ratified the ICC treaty.
Prosper said the U.S. alternative approach to accountability rests
with putting "the responsibility back to where it belongs, and that is
with the states."
Prosper added that the United States did not attempt to weaken the
Rome Treaty during its negotiations, but did strengthen it. "We tried
hard to put in safeguards and make the court as reliable and as
effective as possible," he said. "Unfortunately, the true safeguards
that we wanted were not put in place; but our contribution to the
process, to the negotiations, only helped to improve a flawed
document."
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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