US to pull out of the world tribunal treaty
Powell says body might hamper American troops
By Reuters, 5/6/2002
ASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin L. Powell confirmed yesterday that the United States will disengage from a treaty that would set up an international criminal court.
''Within the next day or so, the United States will notify the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, that we will not ratify it, that we have no intention of ratifying the international criminal court treaty,'' Powell said on ABC's ''This Week.''
Congressional and nongovernmental sources told reporters Friday that the Bush administration intended to withdraw its involvement from a process that has drawn up a framework for the first world tribunal to prosecute people for war crimes, genocide, and other gross human-rights violations.
The United States argues the treaty could be used against US military personnel and the court would not be accountable to the United Nations or any other body, Powell said.
''We found that this was not a situation that we believed was appropriate for our men and women in the armed forces or our diplomats and political leaders,'' he said.
The court became reality on April 11 when the number of countries ratifying the treaty crossed the 60 mark. It is expected to go into operation next year in Dutch city of The Hague.
President Clinton signed the treaty on his last day in office, but did not send it to the Senate for ratification, and recommended that the Bush administration do the same.
By signing the treaty, the United States was able to take part in consultations about how the court would be set up.
Powell said that because the United States had never intended to fully ratify the treaty, it was only appropriate to formally notify the United Nations.
''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, [the] Secretary General, that we do not intend to ratify it, and therefore we are no longer bound in any way to its purpose and objective,'' he said.
Senator Russ Feingold, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was troubled by the US decision, saying it could hamper efforts to maintain international cooperation in the war on terrorism.
The Wisconsin Democrat added that he had conveyed his concerns to a US State Department official yesterday.
''Beyond the extremely problematic matter of casting doubt on the US commitment to international justice and accountability, these steps actually call into question our country's credibility in all multilateral endeavors,'' Feingold said in a statement.
This story ran on page A7 of the Boston Globe on 5/6/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.
Powell says body might hamper American troops
By Reuters, 5/6/2002
ASHINGTON - Secretary of State Colin L. Powell confirmed yesterday that the United States will disengage from a treaty that would set up an international criminal court.
''Within the next day or so, the United States will notify the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, that we will not ratify it, that we have no intention of ratifying the international criminal court treaty,'' Powell said on ABC's ''This Week.''
Congressional and nongovernmental sources told reporters Friday that the Bush administration intended to withdraw its involvement from a process that has drawn up a framework for the first world tribunal to prosecute people for war crimes, genocide, and other gross human-rights violations.
The United States argues the treaty could be used against US military personnel and the court would not be accountable to the United Nations or any other body, Powell said.
''We found that this was not a situation that we believed was appropriate for our men and women in the armed forces or our diplomats and political leaders,'' he said.
The court became reality on April 11 when the number of countries ratifying the treaty crossed the 60 mark. It is expected to go into operation next year in Dutch city of The Hague.
President Clinton signed the treaty on his last day in office, but did not send it to the Senate for ratification, and recommended that the Bush administration do the same.
By signing the treaty, the United States was able to take part in consultations about how the court would be set up.
Powell said that because the United States had never intended to fully ratify the treaty, it was only appropriate to formally notify the United Nations.
''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, [the] Secretary General, that we do not intend to ratify it, and therefore we are no longer bound in any way to its purpose and objective,'' he said.
Senator Russ Feingold, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was troubled by the US decision, saying it could hamper efforts to maintain international cooperation in the war on terrorism.
The Wisconsin Democrat added that he had conveyed his concerns to a US State Department official yesterday.
''Beyond the extremely problematic matter of casting doubt on the US commitment to international justice and accountability, these steps actually call into question our country's credibility in all multilateral endeavors,'' Feingold said in a statement.
This story ran on page A7 of the Boston Globe on 5/6/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.
