*EPF106 05/06/2002
United States Formally Renounces International Criminal Court
(Treaty flawed in many regards, Ambassador Prosper says) (600)

By Merle D. Kellerhals, Jr.
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The United States has formally renounced any involvement in the 1998 Rome Treaty that created the new International Criminal Court, a senior State Department official said May 6.

"Today, at the request of the president, our Mission [at] the United Nations deposited a note with the U.N. secretary-general as the depository of the Rome Treaty creating the International Criminal Court (ICC), stating that the United States does not intend to become a party to the ICC treaty," Ambassador Pierre-Richard Prosper said at a Washington Foreign Press Center briefing. "And, accordingly, [the United States] has no legal obligation as a result of our signature [to the treaty] as of December 31, 2000."

In 1998, a U.N. diplomatic conference in Rome comprised of 160 countries adopted a treaty, known as the "Rome Statute," which creates a permanent International Criminal Court. Previously, tribunals were created for special situations -- such as the 1994 Rwanda genocide and war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. The new court was created as a permanent forum to try cases involving charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression.

The Rome Treaty would enter into force when 60 nations send instruments of ratification to the U.N. On April 11 the U.N. had received notification of ratification from 66 nations, so the treaty enters into force July 1. The United States voted against adoption of the Rome Treaty four years ago.

When President Clinton signed the treaty, he did so with the admonition that he would not send it to the U.S. Senate for ratification, and that he would not recommend to the incoming Bush administration that it do so either, Secretary of State Colin Powell said May 5 on the ABC News television program "This Week."

"Since we have no intention of ratifying it, it is appropriate for us, because we have such serious problems with the ICC, to notify the Depository Secretary General that we do not intend to ratify it; therefore, we are no longer bound in any way to its purpose and objective," Powell said.

Nevertheless, Prosper said the United States remains firmly committed to international accountability for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.

"We took this rare ... but not unprecedented action today in order to give us the flexibility to protect our interests and the flexibility to pursue alternative approaches," Prosper said. "In support of this alternative mechanism, the United States will be prepared to support politically, financially, technically and logistically any ... post-conflict state that seeks to credibly pursue accountability for violations of humanitarian law."

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman said earlier May 6 that the Rome Treaty undermines the role of the U.N. Security Council in maintaining international peace and security, creates a prosecutorial system that is an unchecked power, and threatens U.S. sovereignty as well as the sovereignty of any nation that has not ratified the ICC treaty.

Prosper said the U.S. alternative approach to accountability rests with putting "the responsibility back to where it belongs, and that is with the states."

Prosper added that the United States did not attempt to weaken the Rome Treaty during its negotiations, but did strengthen it. "We tried hard to put in safeguards and make the court as reliable and as effective as possible," he said. "Unfortunately, the true safeguards that we wanted were not put in place; but our contribution to the process, to the negotiations, only helped to improve a flawed document."

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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