Column U.S. rejection of court defies law, logic and morality
By ROBERT F. DRINAN
On July 1, a historic event occurred
of great international importance. The Rome Statute establishing the first
International Criminal Court in human history went into force. The court will
be fully operational by mid-2003. This means that the perpetrators of crimes
against humanity, war crimes and genocide will henceforth be indicted and
tried.
But the United States will be on the sidelines. To the chagrin of
the whole world, President Bush announced that the United States would refuse
to join and that, in addition, America would pull out of the United Nations
peacekeeping operations unless all U.S. personnel involved received immunity
from the court.
The United Nations declined to offer immunity in advance, but the
issue is pending. The Bush White House is wrong in its demand because no
alleged crime committed before July 1, 2002, may even be investigated, much
less prosecuted.
In addition, no charges against American soldiers would be
necessary because the United States has committed itself to follow the four
1949 Geneva Accords on the conduct on war.
The White House warns about political charges being
made by some of the 76 nations that have joined the International Criminal
Court. These countries that might charge American soldiers and others have
reason to distrust the United States, but would they bring charges alleging
violations of the serious crimes covered by the court?
I served on the task force of the American Bar Association on the
court. All of the proposals were examined by jurists and diplomats of every
ideological orientation. The United States refused to join for reasons that
cannot be justified by law, logic or morality.
Indeed, the United States was the original author of the idea of
the world court when it created the Nuremberg tribunal following World War II.
The International Criminal Court is a permanent Nuremberg tribunal.
There are now 9,166 Americans in peacekeeping missions under NATO
or under a U.N. mandate. No member of any peacekeeping mission has ever been
charged with the crimes now under the jurisdiction of the court.
The demand of the United States for immunity from the court
elevates and aggravates the Pentagons tendency to defy world opinion and
think only of its own subjective prepossessions. It wants to be the only player
on the world stage. Its defense budget is now larger than the total budgets of
all of the 14 next largest nations.
As I write this on July 8, it is not clear whether the United
Nations will ease its own rules and procedures to cater to the unreasonable
demands of the White House. But even if the United Nations does what the White
House desires, America will have lost friends because of its bullying
tactics.
The unsupportable demands of the United States on the
International Criminal Court have triggered world reflections on the present
mood and posture of America in its dealings with its friends and allies.
America, as never before, looks like the Lone Ranger following its own
self-centered wishes in disregard of the counsel of former allies and
friends.
Schoolchildren will soon be learning that July 1, 2002, was a very
significant date in the history of the world. A dream long hoped for has become
a reality. The rule of law became the law of the world. The absence of the
United States will be one more reason why millions of schoolchildren will
accept the suspicions and fears their parents and teachers have for the United
States.
No one says that the International Criminal Court is a perfect way
to prevent genocide and related crimes. But if the United States cooperated,
its structures and its enforcement could be improved.
The Holy See has approved the International Criminal Court. The
boycott of the United States will hinder other nations from participating
actively in the mission of the court.
The sole superpower is searching for its role in the world. It has
failed to follow the path of truth and justice in its indefensible rejection of
the International Criminal Court.
Jesuit Fr. Robert Drinan is a professor at Georgetown
University Law Center. His e-mail address is
drinan@law.georgetown.edu
National Catholic Reporter, July 19,
2002
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