*EPF109 05/06/2002
Text: Rumsfeld Says World Court Treaty Lacks Checks, Balances
(ICC dilutes U.N. Security Council authority, he says) (970)
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the United States has a number of serious concerns about the newly created International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a statement issued May 6, Rumsfeld said the ICC lacks adequate checks and balances on its prosecutors and judges; dilutes the U.N. Security Council's authority over the international criminal prosecutors; and lacks "any effective mechanism to prevent politicized prosecutions of American service members and officials."
"We want to make clear that the United States rejects the purported jurisdictional claims of the ICC -- and the United States will regard as illegitimate any attempt by the court, or state parties to the treaty, to assert the ICC's jurisdiction over American citizens," he said in a prepared statement May 6.
In 1998, a U.N. conference in Rome of diplomatic representatives from 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 genocide committed in 1994 in Rwanda, and war crimes committed 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.
President Clinton signed the treaty December 31, 2000, but said then he would not send it to the U.S. Senate for ratification, and recommended to the incoming Bush administration that it also not send it forward to the Senate for ratification.
By April 11, 66 nations had sent instruments of ratification to the U.N., which will cause the ICC to enter into force on July 1.
Following is the text of Rumsfeld's remarks:
(begin text)
U.S. Department of Defense
Washington, D.C.
May 6, 2002
SECRETARY RUMSFELD STATEMENT ON THE ICC TREATY
Earlier today, this administration announced the president's decision to formally notify the United Nations that the United States will not become a party to International Criminal Court treaty. The U.S. declaration, which was delivered to the secretary-general this morning, effectively reverses the previous U.S. government decision to become a signatory.
The ICC's entry into force on July 1st means that our men and women in uniform -- as well as current and future U.S. officials -- could be at risk of prosecution by the ICC. We want to make clear that the United States rejects the purported jurisdictional claims of the ICC -- and the United States will regard as illegitimate any attempt by the court, or state parties to the treaty, to assert the ICC's jurisdiction over American citizens.
The United States has a number of serious objections to the ICC -- among them, the lack of adequate checks and balances on powers of the ICC prosecutor and judges; the dilution of the U.N. Security Council's authority over international criminal prosecutions; and the lack of any effective mechanism to prevent politicized prosecutions of American service members and officials.
These flaws would be of concern at any time, but they are particularly troubling in the midst of a difficult, dangerous war on terrorism. There is the risk that the ICC could attempt to assert jurisdiction over U.S. service members, as well as civilians, involved in counter-terrorist and other military operations -- something we cannot allow.
Notwithstanding these objections to the treaty, the United States respects the decision of those nations that have chosen to join the ICC. But they, in turn, will need to respect our decision not to join the ICC or to place our citizens under the jurisdiction of the court.
Unfortunately, the ICC will not respect the U.S. decision to stay out of the treaty. To the contrary, the ICC provisions claim the authority to detain and try American citizens-U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, as well as current and future officials -- even though the United States has not given its consent to be bound by the treaty. When the ICC treaty enters into force this summer, U.S. citizens will be exposed to the risk of prosecution by a court that is unaccountable to the American people, and that has no obligation to respect the constitutional rights of our citizens. The United States understandably finds that troubling and unacceptable.
Clearly the existence of an International Criminal Court, which attempts to claim jurisdiction over our men and women in uniform stationed around the world, will necessarily complicate U.S. military cooperation with countries that are parties to the ICC treaty -- because those countries may now incur a treaty obligation to hand over U.S. nationals to the court, even over U.S. objections. The United States would consider any such action to be illegitimate.
We obviously intend to avoid such actions. Fortunately there maybe mechanisms within the treaty by which we can work bilaterally with friends and allies, to the extent they are willing, to prevent the jurisdiction of the treaty and thus avoid complications in our military cooperation. Obviously, countries that have not ratified the treaty would be under no such obligation to cooperate with the court.
By putting U.S. men and women in uniform at risk of politicized prosecutions, the ICC could well create a powerful disincentive for U.S. military engagement in the world. If so, it could be a recipe for isolationism-something that would be unfortunate for the world, given that our country is committed to engagement in the world and to contributing to a more peaceful and stable world.
For a strong deterrent, it is critical that the U.S. be leaning forward, not back. We must be ready to defend our people, our interests, and our way of life. We have an obligation to protect our men and women in uniform from this court and to preserve America's ability to remain engaged in the world. And we intend to do so.
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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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