World Criminal Court Could Limit U.S. Military

[boblandis]

World Criminal Court Could Limit U.S. Military

Lawrence Morahan, CNSNews.com

Saturday, April 13, 2002

The establishment of a permanent United Nations war crimes tribunal, which is supported by America's closest allies, could have the long-term effect of curtailing U.S. peacekeeping missions around the world, even as Washington refuses to endorse the measure, legal analysts said.

In the near term it is unlikely that U.S. allies or the U.N. will refuse to accept American military assistance unless the United States becomes a signatory to the newly chartered International Criminal Court.

But whether the United States will continue to provide military assistance without some assurance that the court won't have jurisdiction over U.S. citizens stationed overseas remains to be seen, they said.

The main concern is the possibility that the court will be used to charge American nationals who are participating in overseas military activity as war criminals, and the fear that the court will make an effort to use its authority in politicized ways.

"If that fear is realized, we could wind up declining to participate in international peacekeeping," said Paul Rosenzweig, a senior legal research fellow with the Heritage Foundation.

At a ceremony at U.N. headquarters Thursday, 10 nations ratified the Rome treaty establishing the ICC, bringing to 66 the number of nations supporting the measure, six more than needed to bring the treaty into force on July 1.

The tribunal is expected to go into operation next year in The Hague, Holland, and perform a function similar to that of the Nuremberg courts, which prosecuted Nazi leaders after World War II.

The ICC has jurisdiction only when countries are unwilling or unable to prosecute serious atrocities, such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Washington has campaigned unsuccessfully to have U.S. soldiers and officials exempted from the court's jurisdiction. The United States boycotted Thursday's ceremony, just as it has not attended meetings preparing for the court's operations since last year.

The United States maintains military personnel in 146 nations around the world and in all the oceans and seas, and would make itself vulnerable to frivolous prosecutions by some countries if it became a signatory to the treaty, analysts said.

'Nuisance'

"As long as we maintain our superpower status around the world, it's only going to become a nuisance," Robert Maginnis, vice president of the Family Research Council, said of the treaty.

"However, should our stature decline, then it becomes a real problem for us because of our personnel being vulnerable to the whims of a judicial system which, quite frankly, we're going to have little say over."

Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, called the ICC "illegitimate and unconstitutional." He introduced the "American Servicemember and Citizen Protection Act of 2002," which would protect Americans from prosecution by the court, prohibit the use of U.S. taxpayer funds for the court, and deems ICC actions against U.S. service personnel acts of aggression against America.

'Illegitimate'

"The ICC is completely illegitimate, even under the U.N.'s own charter," Paul stated. "That charter gives neither the U.N. General Assembly nor any other U.N. agency lawmaking authority. In other words, there cannot be U.N. 'laws,' and there is no valid law authorizing the establishment of the ICC.

"The ratification of the ICC treaty, whether by 60 nations or 1,000, does nothing to give the court any legal authority whatsoever," he said.

The Senate version of the "American Servicemembers' Protection Act," sponsored by Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., mandates the use of force to rescue Americans brought before the court.

Tom Kilgannon, executive director of Freedom Alliance, urged President Bush to withdraw the signature of former President Bill Clinton from the treaty.

"The ICC jeopardizes American military personnel who are fighting to make the world safe from terrorism," Kilgannon said. "Our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines need the full support and protection of the U.S. government. There should be no further hesitation on removing the U.S. signature from this flawed treaty."

Countries supporting the court include Canada, Australia, most European nations and Latin American republics.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan hailed the treaty in a message broadcast via satellite from Rome.

"The time is at last coming when humanity no longer has to bear impotent witness to the worst atrocities, because those tempted to commit such crimes will know that justice awaits them," he said.