Posted on 04/11/2002 7:43:00 PM PDT by Vigilant1
U.S. Newswire
11 Apr 14:26
Hyde, Others Seek Immunity from ICC Jurisdiction for U.S. Servicemembers in UN Peacekeeping Operations
To: National and International Desks
Contact: Sam Stratman of the House International Relations Committee, 202-226-7875; http://www.house.gov/international_relations
WASHINGTON, April 11 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The United States should seek immunity from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for 3,000 U.S. servicemembers deployed in Bosnia when the United Nations (U.N.) mandate for that peacekeeping operation is renewed in June, U.S. Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.) suggested Thursday.
Hyde, chairman of the House International Relations Committee, and a bipartisan group of House and Senate members made the request to Secretary of State Colin Powell following Thursday's announcement in New York that the Rome Statute has been ratified by more than the 60 nations needed for the establishment of the ICC.
"Supporters of the ICC have persuaded themselves that the threat of U.N. prosecution will deter the Saddam Husseins and Slobodan Milosevics of the world. But we know you agree with us that dictators with the blood of thousands on their hands will scoff at the threat," the legislators said in their letter to Powell. "The real deterrent effect of the ICC will be on nations like our own that respect the rule of law and will in the future hesitate to act in situations like we faced in Kosovo in 1999."
Among those signing the letter are Hyde and Sens. Zell Miller (D-Ga.) and Jesse Helms (R-N.C.); and Reps. Tom Delay (R-Texas) and Bob Stump (R-Ariz.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
"Supporters of the ICC have conceded that some countries may hesitate to participate in future U.N. peacekeeping operations if their military personnel are at risk of criminal prosecution by the ICC for activities undertaken by them on behalf of the United Nations," the legislators wrote. "The solution to this problem is for the United Nations Security Council to routinely include in Security Council resolutions establishing U.N. peacekeeping operations a grant of permanent immunity from ICC jurisdiction for personnel participating in the operation. Indeed, we would oppose any future U.S. military participation in U.N. peacekeeping operations where the Security Council refuses to grant such immunity to our personnel."
The United States participates in the Bosnian peacekeeping operation under the authority of U.N. Security Council 1357 which expires on June 21, 2002. Hyde noted that under the Dayton Accords of 1995, which established the peacekeeping operation in Bosnia, U.S. forces were granted full immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the courts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He added that U.S. service personnel accused of crimes in Bosnia are subject to prosecution under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
"Now that the government of Bosnia is poised to ratify the Rome Statute, thereby imposing ICC criminal jurisdiction on those same forces, it is perfectly reasonable to ask the Security Council to grant immunity from ICC and ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia) jurisdiction corresponding to the grant of immunity from Bosnian criminal jurisdiction provided in the Dayton Accords."
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http://www.usnewswire.com
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/U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
04/11 14:26
TheICC applies to us even though we haven't ratified the treaty. It applies to everyone in the world whether they signed it or not. If the ICC says you're breaking interantional law, the UN can come and get you.
Needless to say, the ICC will be in the hands of the anti-American crowd. Any American action will be considered a crime by these guys. Probably the war on terrorism will be considered a crime.
They'll indict and convict GW Bush. And I'll be tremendously happy.
Because maybe then, they'll close down the UN. Something they should have done years ago.
Asking the U.N. to exempt our soldiers from the ICC authority legitimizes the court.
So we're supposed to give up our firearms thereby giving the U.N. Peacekeepers a monopoly on force, and then give them immunity from prosecution? Is this Mr. Hyde's idea of a joke?
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