Posted on 04/11/2002 1:11:00 PM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
International Criminal Court, which claims the right to try U.S. servicemen and civilians on any number of vague charges, became a reality Thursday.
In a signing ceremony at U.N. headquarters in New York City, 10 nations ratified a 1998 Rome treaty creating the court. Fifty-six nations had already approved the scheme. Backers of the court claim they needed 60 nations for the treaty to take effect.
"The long-held dream of a permanent international criminal court will now be realized," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a video conference from Rome.
"It is an extremely significant moment in world history, the achievement of this court," said David Scheffer, former ambassador at large for war crimes who led U.S. negotiations for the court under the Clinton administration.
The Bush administration boycotted the ceremony. Canada, Australia and most of Europe and Latin America support creation of the court.
His Damage Never Ends
Although even he admitted the court was "flawed," Bill Clinton "nevertheless directed an envoy to sign the treaty, provoking outrage on Capitol Hill, where senators have vowed that the document would never be ratified," the Washington Times reported Thursday.
"Since that time, there has been a raging debate in the Bush administration over whether to formally withdraw the U.S. signature."
Exactly how the Bush administration will deal with the court is uncertain.
Bush "is seriously considering withdrawing" Clinton's signature from the Rome treaty, "even though Clinton did not submit it to Congress for ratification," Reuters reported today. According to the Associated Press, "the Bush administration said it was considering 'unsigning' the treaty to stress that it won't be bound by its provisions."
A State Department official told the Times: "We have made the decision that we will not be a part of this process. This day will come and go. What is clear is that we are prepared to take steps to protect our interests."
'It Is Permanent'
The tribunal is expected to begin operation next year in The Hague, Netherlands
"Nuremburg was a baby step. This is a major evolution," said Michael Posner, executive director of a group that calls itself Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. "It is a global court. It has all the world's great legal traditions. It is permanent. It will change the way the world deals with human rights violators."
However, as the Times noted, "Opponents of the treaty fear an independent tribunal, accountable to no one, could become an international 'Star Chamber' prosecuting U.S. servicemen and civilians for involvement in U.S. policy abroad."
Anti-American nations and pressure groups, for example, could claim the U.S. campaign against terrorism in Afghanistan is a "war crime" because civilians have died.
Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., who has lobbied the president and the State Department and to "unsign" the treaty, said, "I think that signing a treaty that could turn around and bite you in the rear end is wrong."
Except for the Times, media coverage of the event was remarkably biased. AP and Reuters each quoted numerous supporters of the scheme and failed to quote any opponents of it. Reuters, a news service that refuses to refer to terrorists as terrorists, gushed in a headline, "Dream of Global Criminal Court Becomes Reality."
How long it will take that "dream" to become a nightmare for America remains to be seen.
They can claim whatever they want. However, our Constitution requires Congressional ratification of ANY treaty before it becomes law.
Court born dead.
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