[Peace-discuss] UN says US officially above the law

[Ricky Baldwin]

US Gets War Crimes Tribunal Exemption 

By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer 6/12/03

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council on Thursday
approved another one-year exemption for American
peacekeepers from prosecution by the new international
war crimes tribunal, but it faced opposition from
France, Germany and Syria. 

France, Germany and Syria abstained, despite a U.S.
appeal not to further strain the bitter trans-Atlantic
division over the war against Iraq. The three argued
that a special U.S. exemption was not necessary and
only weakens the International Criminal Court. 

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan spoke out strongly
against any attempt to try to make the exemption
permanent — which the United States initially sought.
He warned that this would not only undermine the court
but the authority of the U.N. Security Council "and
the legitimacy of United Nations peacekeeping." 

The resolution adopted by a vote of 12-0 with the
three abstentions, authorizes a yearlong exemption
from arrest or trial for peacekeepers from the United
States and other countries that have not ratified the
Rome treaty establishing the court. 

France and Germany, both members of the European
Union, were in the forefront of opposition to the
U.S.-led war against Iraq. Last week, the United
States warned the EU that its criticism over the
exemption request was putting more strains on
trans-Atlantic relations. 

France's deputy U.N. ambassador Michel Duclos said
agreeing to the renewal "risks in effect giving
credence to the perception of permanent exceptions
which can only weaken the court and impair its
authority." 

During an open Security Council debate before the
vote, Greece's U.N. ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis,
speaking on behalf of the 15-nation bloc, put the
United States on notice that "automatic renewal would
be undermining to the letter and the spirit of the
Rome Treaty and its fundamental purpose." 

All 15 EU nations are among the 90 countries that are
party to the court, which will prosecute cases of
genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity
committed after July 1, 2002. The court will step in
only when countries are unwilling or unable to
dispense justice themselves. 

The court got a boost Wednesday when China's U.N.
Ambassador Wang Yingfan said his country was
"positively considering" ratifying the Rome Treaty.
Beijing was one of seven countries that voted against
the Rome statute but in the last four years has taken
a more positive attitude. 

"China's change reflects a growing support worldwide
for the ICC and international justice," said William
Pace, who heads the Coalition for the International
Criminal Court, which represents more than 1,000
organizations supporting the tribunal. 

Then President Bill Clinton's administration signed
the 1988 Rome treaty setting up the court, but the
Bush administration has rescinded the U.S. signature. 
President Bush contends that Americans could be
subject to the court's jurisdiction even if it is not
a party to the pact. Washington argues that the court
could be used for frivolous or politically motivated
prosecutions of American troops. In addition to the
exemption, it also has signed bilateral agreements
with 37 countries not to prosecute American officials
— and is seeking more. 

During Thursday's debate, Canada's U.N. Ambassador
Paul Heinbecker appealed to the council to keep the
exemption from becoming permanent and emphasized that
"the ICC is not a court for frivolous prosecutions."
He noted safeguards put in the treaty at U.S. request
to ensure that such prosecutions will be screened out.


Last July, the council unanimously approved a one-year
exemption after a diplomatic battle in which the
United States threatened to end far-flung peacekeeping
operations from Afghanistan to Sierra Leone. 

Washington had asked for a quick vote on its
resolution. But non-council nations asked for — and
got — an open council meeting before the vote. 

The final deal dented the court's underlying principle
that no one should be exempt from punishment for war
crimes, and it angered court supporters and human
rights groups. 

U.S. deputy ambassador James Cunningham called the
Rome Treaty "fatally flawed" and said the resolution
represented a compromise that should be respected by
all nations. He denied that it violated the treaty. 


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