Human rights

US: Secretary Rumsfeld's statement on the ICC treaty

2002-05-16, Issue 64

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/rights/7493

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"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."

M2 PRESSWIRE
May 8, 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 servicemembers 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. servicemembers, 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.
((M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information
provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties.
Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at
http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to
info@m2.com)).

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Ms. Shantha Rau
Information Services Coordinator
NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court

777 UN Plaza 12th Floor
New York, New York 10017
USA
Telephone +1 212 687 2176 Faxsimile +1 212 599 1332
Email cicc4@iccnow.org
Web http://www.iccnow.org
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