US lawmakers snub noses at world court
By Jim Lobe and Abid Aslam
atimes.com
WASHINGTON - The administration of President George W Bush faces a potential new obstacle to maintaining international support for its "war against terrorism" - this one erected by US legislators.
At issue is the American Servicemen's Protection Act (ASPA), an amendment to the State Department budget bill for 2002 that, if signed by Bush, would bar any US cooperation with the nascent International Criminal Court (ICC), even on a case-by-case basis. A key congressional conference committee approved the ASPA late last week. The amendment also would prevent the administration from even sending a US delegation to negotiations to hammer out operational details of the tribunal, which is being set up in the Netherlands to prosecute war crimes, genocide, and other crimes against humanity.
The decision attracted little immediate attention but could prove momentous, observers say. ICC proponents denounced the lawmakers' action, calling it especially counterproductive at a moment when Washington needs international support in pursuit of the administration's crusade against terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia, and as yet unidentified terrorists and their supporters worldwide. European countries have pleaded with Washington not to oppose the ICC. They include Germany, which has pledged troops to the US-led "war".
"This is the worst possible time to do something like this," said Steve Dimoff, director of the Washington office of the non-governmental United Nations Association-USA. "It's like telling everyone, 'We really don't need you guys.'"
The move also came as Bush prepared to appeal for greater international support of US efforts on Saturday, at the opening of the UN General Assembly's annual general debate. "I'll make the case," Bush said of his speech, "that the time of sympathy is over. We appreciate the condolences. Now is the time for action."
However, a State Department official poured water on the president's chances. "Unless Bush vows to veto the bill - something I don't think he'll do - this is going to be seen as a real slap in the face by the other delegations," said the official, who asked not to be identified.
It is not yet clear what precisely the administration will do about the conference committee's action. The committee was formed to reconcile two different versions of an appropriations bill that includes the State Department's budget. The House of Representatives version included nothing about the ICC, but the House majority whip, unilateralist Republican Tom DeLay, prevailed upon the House conferees to yield to the Senate version of the bill, which included the ASPA.
The provision most objectionable to critics, the so-called Craig Amendment, states: "None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act shall be available for cooperation with, or assistance or other support to, the International Criminal Court or the Preparatory Commission. This subsection shall not be construed to apply to any other entity outside the Rome Treaty." The last reference suggests that the amendment would not apply to tribunals already set up for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
Under this provision, "if the ICC were in the future to prosecute the world's worst criminals, including those who attack the US or its interests, the US would be prohibited from working with the court", said Heather Hamilton, program director at the non-governmental World Federalist Association. This would appear to make it impossible, for example, for US troops to turn over Osama bin Laden or anyone else in Al-Qaeda to the ICC.
Apart from this provision, the Bush administration endorsed the ASPA in a September 25 letter to Senator Jesse Helms, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Helms has said that he opposes the court because "instead of helping the United States go after real war criminals and terrorists, [it] has the unbridled power to intimidate our military people and other citizens with bogus, politicized prosecutions".
The administration opposes the creation of the court for similar reasons but told Congress that the Senate provision would impede its efforts to promote US interests related to the court. Among its other provisions, the ASPA bars military aid to other countries unless they agree to shield US troops on their territory from ICC prosecution and similarly restricts US troops from participating in UN peacekeeping operations unless the UN Security Council explicitly exempts them from prosecution. The bill also authorizes "any action necessary" to free US troops who may be handed over to the court "improperly".
"I cannot believe that at the very moment we are asking the world to join in apprehending the thugs and criminals who claimed 6,000 lives," Senator Christopher Dodd, a Democrat, said last month, when the Craig amendment was approved, "we would say we will have nothing to do with the establishment of an international criminal court."
Proposals for an international criminal court have been circulated in one form or another since the Nuremberg Nazi war crime trials after World War II. A framework for the creation of the ICC was established under the 1998 Rome Treaty. It will enter into force when 60 of the 120 nations that signed the pact have ratified it. So far, 43 have and some observers believe the target will be reached by the middle of next year.
Only seven countries voted against the treaty, including the United States, China, Israel and Iraq. |
