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U.S. Drops U.N. Bid for War Crime Shield
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By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS - Facing strong opposition, the United States announced Wednesday it was dropping a resolution seeking a new exemption for American peacekeepers from international prosecution for war crimes.
AP Photo
U.S. deputy ambassador James Cunningham made the announcement after a U.S. compromise that would limit the exemption to one final year failed to win support from key Security Council opponents.
Several council members said the abuse of Iraqi detainees by U.S. soldiers and Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites)'s opposition to renewing the exemption for a third year were factors in their refusal to back the compromise.
Annan said the U.S. decision "will help maintain the unity of the Security Council at a time when it faces difficult challenges," his spokesman, Fred Eckhard, said in a statement.
The current one-year exemption expires on June 30.
U.S. President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s administration argues that the International Criminal Court — which started operating last year — could be used for frivolous or politically motivated prosecutions of American troops.
The 94 countries that have ratified the 1998 Rome Treaty establishing the court maintain it contains enough safeguards to prevent frivolous prosecutions and insist that nobody should be exempt.
Cunningham stressed that the United States is "the largest contributor to global security and has special well-known interests in protecting our forces and our officials."
"We believe that our draft and its predecessors fairly meet the concerns of all. Not all council members agree, however, and the United States has decided not to proceed further with consideration and action on the draft at this time in order to avoid a prolonged and divisive debate," he said after a closed council meeting.
When the court was established nearly two years ago, the United States threatened to end its involvement in far-flung peacekeeping operations established or authorized by the United Nations (news - web sites) if it didn't get an exemption for American peacekeepers.
Cunningham refused to say what the United States would do when the next U.N. peacekeeping operation comes up for renewal in the Security Council.
In his statement, he said that "in the absence of a new resolution, the United States will need to take into account the risk of ICC (International Criminal Court) review when determining contributions to U.N. authorized or established operations."
Before the council meeting, Spain and China said they would abstain if the resolution was put to a vote and Philippines Ambassador Lauro Baja, the current council president, said he doubted that the United States had the minimum nine "yes" votes needed to adopt it.
Last week, Annan — in a rare intervention — urged the council not to renew the U.S. exemption, citing the Iraqi prisoner abuse and raising "serious doubts" about the legality of an exemption. He also warned against dividing the United Nations' most powerful body.
Spanish Ambassador Juan Antonio Yanez-Barnuevo welcomed the U.S. decision to drop the resolution, and said that Annan's statement "had a powerful effect."
William Pace, head of the Coalition for an International Criminal Court, called the U.S. decision "a victory for international justice" and said U.S. concern about prosecution of American peacekeepers "was always exaggerated."
The United States circulated a resolution last month that would have authorized a new exemption, but it ran into stiff opposition from court supporters.
The International Criminal Court can prosecute cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed after it was established on July 1, 2002, but will step in only when countries are unwilling or unable to dispense justice themselves.
Besides seeking a new exemption from arrest or prosecution of U.S. peacekeepers, Washington has signed bilateral agreements with 90 countries that bar any prosecution of American officials by the court.
Cunningham said Wednesday that the United States will "continue to negotiate bilateral agreements" to protect Americans. |
