[Peace-discuss] Bush administration wants immunity from International Criminal Court

[patton paul]

 US Will Deny Aid to Countries That Refuse Court Immunity Deals
by Rupert Cornwell in Washington


The United States aims to secure agreements "with every country in the
world" guaranteeing immunity for its citizens from any prosecution from
the new International Criminal Court (ICC), and will cut off military aid
to countries which do not comply.

In an uncompromising defense of Washington's decision to shun the court,
Under Secretary of State John Bolton announced yesterday that the US has
already reached so-called Article 98 exemption agreements, under the Rome
statutes setting up the ICC, with 70 countries; 50 of them among the ICC's
90 signatories.

Speaking at the conservative thinktank, the American Enterprise Institute,
Mr Bolton also accused the European Union of imposing an "unfair choice"
on aspirant members by insisting they do nothing to weaken the authority
of the ICC. This made it harder for these countries to reach exemption
deals with the US, he complained.

The White House's total rejection of the court, announced soon after it
took office in 2001, fueled some of the first criticism of the Bush
administration as unilateralist and scornful of international pacts. The
language of Mr Bolton, in-house 'neo-conservative' hawk at the State
Department, will only sharpen such complaints. He lambasted the
"intolerable" authority of the court, with its "unaccountable prosecutors
and unchecked judicial powers" which represented a "macro-constitutional"
issue for the US. More clearly than ever before, Mr Bolton indicated that
Washington's biggest objection is not to the risk that the court poses to
American soldiers, diplomats and other officials, but that it would
encourage attempts to prosecute top figures in US government, past and
present, for war crimes.

He cited the efforts in Belgium - since abandoned - to level charges
against President Bush and military and civilian leaders at the Pentagon
over Iraq. "Launching criminal investigations can have enormous political
implications," Mr Bolton said.

Washington's favored retaliation is to sever military aid to countries
which refuse to grant Article 98 exemptions.

The Act has been rigidly applied by the Bush administration, even to close
allies who have contributed to the American-led occupation of Iraq.

 2003 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd