Sec of State Clinton: It is a 'great regret' the US is not in International Criminal Court

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This is a critically important development.



Clinton: It is a 'great regret' the US is not in International Criminal Court



Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, attends a press conference at the US embassy in Nairobi. Photograph: Khalil Senosi/AP


Ewen MacAskill
Thursday 6 August 2009 19.39 BST

Hillary Clinton today signalled a significant shift by the US in favour of the International Criminal Court, the world body that pursues war criminals but which was strenuously opposed by the Bush administration.
In the most public expression of support yet from the Obama administration, Secretary of State Clinton expressed regret that the US has not yet joined the ICC.

The court, set up in 2002, has pursued dictators, mainly from Africa, who are alleged to have been engaged in genocide and other war crimes.
Supporters, including the UK government, which is a member, have long advocated the US joining, saying this would immensely strengthen the body.

But George Bush blocked American membership, expressing fears that US officials could be open to arrest for alleged war crimes.

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Bill Clinton, in December 2000, just before leaving office, signed up to the ICC. But Bush two years later announced that the US would not be joining and a bill ratifying membership failed to get through Congress. ..... "Hilary Clinton's comment that she regrets that the US is not yet a signatory to the ICC is intriguing. I think it marks an important moment in the courtship between the US and the ICC. Not only has she voiced an aspiration, but she has explicitly stated that the US has been cooperating with the ICC," Weisbord, who supports the ICC, said.

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Supporters of the ICC say the US is losing out by not being a member, citing discussion underway at present on adding another crime to the ICC's list, the crime of aggression, and this is being shaped without US participation. A vote by members on the new crime is scheduled for May next year in Uganda.

One hundred and ten states have so far ratified the Rome statute. Those who have not signed, apart from the US, include Russia, China and Israel.

Although the Bush administration frequently cited Pentagon concerns, US lawyers report that there appears to be a shift there too, with some senior military figures now viewing the court as a useful tool rather than a threat.
One of the most prestigious international legal bodies in the US, the American Society of International Law, published a report in March from its own task force that unanimously recommended the Obama administration officially engage with the ICC and give serious consideration to joining the court.

Let's see where America's war criminal ex-pResident turns up next.






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