WHEN the idea of establishing a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute crimes against humanity was first broached during the Clinton administration, American officials were concerned that America, as a world power, would become a target of political prosecution. During the Bush administration, the US position at first hardened against the court because of the Iraq war and instead of joining the court, bilateral immunity agreements were made with other countries threatening sanctions if they did not comply – a predictably unpopular policy, as US Secretary of State Rice admitted recently.
And, as it turned out, Americas fears were unfounded. Although there were charges against America’s actions in Iraq, the court takes the position that it investigates war crimes only when the country fails to do so. Since America put some of its own soldiers on trial for crimes committed in Iraq, the court investigated but rejected the allegations.
Today the work of the ICC is being acknowledged as an important adjunct to fighting crimes against humanity. Currently it is investigating some of the world’s most heinous crimes against civilian populations in Uganda, Congo, and Darfur.
It was the Congo government that referred the first case to go to trial of warlord militia leader, Thomas Lubanga, to the ICC, and cooperated in his transfer to a jail in the Hague. He is accused of forcing children under 15 to serve as soldiers, a case which will reverberate with the threat of indictment in other countries where similar practices occur. Uganda reported to the ICC five leaders of the murderous Lord Resistance Army, who have been indicted. In Darfur, two suspects have been identified by the court, including a former junior minister in the Sudanese government and a leader of the Sudanese-backed janjaweed militia, for crimes against humanity which include murder, rape, and torture.
As America’s fears of political prosecution have been alleviated, its attitude to the court has changed. In the Security Council, the US chose not to veto the referral of war crimes committed in Darfur to the ICC. Nor did it veto the UN’s inquiry, through the ICC, of the murder of Rafik Hariri, the former Prime Minister of Lebanon. Nor did it oppose the transfer of the former president of Liberia, Charles Taylor, to The Hague for trial by the ICC.
Republican Senator John McCain, who is a presidential candidate for 2008, and former Republican Senator Bob Dole have urged America to help the ICC investigation in Darfur, through its intelligence service and access to satellite technology.
Today, the ICC has over 104 member countries. And a poll reveals that three out of four Americans favor joining the international criminal court.
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