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U.S. Insists on Immunity from ICC, Threatens to Stop Funds
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U.S.
doesn’t want its troops abroad to be tried by the ICC
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UNITED
NATIONS, July 11 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The United States
offered a new compromise to the U.N. Security Council Wednesday, July
10, in a move to end the deadlock caused by the U.S. refusal to ratify
the International Criminal Court (ICC) unless its forces are granted
immunity.
The
new proposal came after almost six hours of criticisms and pleas from
35 countries for a change in the U.S. position, in an open special
session of the council Wednesday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
The
United States has threatened to oppose the renewal of U.N.
peacekeeping operations in Bosnia unless U.S. peacekeepers are
exempted from prosecution under the ICC’s jurisdiction.
In
an unprecedented move, the United States on May 6 withdrew its
signature from the treaty setting up the ICC based on its
unwillingness to allow its nationals to be tried outside of U.S.
jurisdiction.
In
the new draft, the United States proposes that immunity be granted on
a yearly basis, and be subject to an annual Security Council vote.
Initially it had insisted on exemption for non-signatory countries be
renewed automatically.
British
ambassador to the United Nations, Jeremy Greenstock, who holds the
revolving council presidency, said Wednesday that council members now
“wish to send the text back to their capitals to take
instruction.”
Canada’s
ambassador to the world body, Paul Heinbecker, the first to speak at
Wednesday’s session, warned against any compromise that would place
U.S. peacekeepers outside the realm of prosecution by the court.
The
United States funds around 25% of the 2.77 billion-dollar peacekeeping
budget and has threatened to withdraw some or all of the money over
the ICC issue. Most of the 704 troops committed by the United States
to the 15 current U.N. peacekeeping missions are attached to the
police-training operations in Bosnia, according to U.N. statistics.
Negroponte
had vetoed the renewal of the Bosnian mission known as UNMIBH at the
end of June in protest over the ICC, but two extensions have since
been granted as the council works to resolve the dispute.
“We
respect the obligations of those states that have ratified the Rome
Statute,” a total of 76 nations, Negroponte said Wednesday. “We
hope that other states, in turn, will respect our concern about our
peacekeepers.”
One
diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Wednesday that the
new U.S. proposal may pose problems. Blanket immunity, he said, would
be hard to endorse, but it may be done on a case-by-case basis.
The
United States has also proposed to effectively block any action by the
court unless it is approved by the 15-member council, on which the
United States has a permanent seat, based on Article 16 of the
court’s founding statute.
But
the U.S. “misunderstanding and unfounded fears” of the court’s
statutes and purpose are threatening the very existence and
“achievements” of peacekeeping missions, said South Africa’s
ambassador Dumisani Kumalo.
He
underscored the importance of such missions to the African continent,
where four of the U.N.’s 15 current deployments worldwide are in the
Democratic Republic of Congo; Ethiopia/Eritrea; Sierra Leone; and
Western Sahara.
Former
U.S. president Bill Clinton was one of 139 heads of state to sign the
Treaty of Rome setting up the permanent war crimes court to try
defendants whose home countries do not have satisfactory judicial
infrastructure.
Although
U.S. ambassador to the U.N. John Negroponte reaffirmed the importance
Washington attaches to peace and security worldwide, he stressed that
the “legal position of peacekeepers and the states contributing to
them has been an issue throughout the history of peacekeeping.”
This
has been “an important consideration for the governments that must
decide whether... to help out in unexpected crises or emergency
situations, as the United States is frequently asked to do,” he
said.
The
ICC is the first permanent court to try war crimes, crimes against
humanity and genocide. It was set up in The Hague July 1 and is due to
start work in approximately one year.
The
U.S. has forces in many areas in the world, including Afghanistan
where there has recently been accusations of crimes committed by U.S.
soldiers against Afghani civilians.
See
also: Anti-ICC
U.S. to Face U.N. Rejection of Immunity for Its Peacekeepers
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