Implementation of the Treaty Establishing the International Criminal Court

The treaty establishing the International Criminal Court has come into effect, while efforts by President Bush's administration to exempt American soldiers from the court's jurisdiction, which will be based in The Hague, Netherlands, continue. On Sunday, the United States vetoed a proposal during a United Nations Security Council meeting discussing the extension of the UN police mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the Security Council refused to grant immunity to American soldiers against the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. Nevertheless, the U.S. agreed to extend the mission of 1,500 international police in Bosnia for another 72 hours to allow diplomats to reach a compromise on this issue. The Bush administration claims that the provisions of the treaty establishing the permanent war crimes court do not protect American soldiers from politically motivated prosecutions, but supporters of the treaty dispute this claim. The International Criminal Court will begin operations on Monday as the first permanent legal authority to prosecute crimes such as genocide, widespread human rights violations, and war crimes. Former President Clinton had signed the treaty that established this court, but the Bush administration has refused to support it, arguing that the court would expose U.S. forces and citizens to politically motivated prosecutions.