US: In the wake of the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq, a majority of the UN security council yesterday blocked a draft US resolution that would continue shielding US troops from war crime charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Conor O'Clery reports from New York.
The US is threatening instead to demand special exemptions from prosecution of US troops before approving future UN peace-keeping operations to which the US may contribute.
Washington dropped a compromise resolution yesterday when it became clear at a closed security council meeting at UN headquarters in New York that nine of the 15 members would abstain, denying Washington a majority.
"The United States has decided not to proceed further in order to avoid a prolonged and divisive debate," US deputy ambassador Mr James Cunningham told reporters.
The Americans were seeking renewal of an annual exemption, granted since 2002, for personnel whose home nations have not ratified the court's founding treaty.
UN Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan harshly criticised the US move last week, citing the Abu Ghraib scandal.
Washington's compromise offer not to renew its request for exemption next year did not satisfy sceptical countries, particularly as Washington made clear that it would seek other ways to keep American troops immune from prosecution for war crimes by the ICC after the year expired.
America has refused to sign up to the court, which was inaugurated on March 11th, 2003, after 89 countries had ratified the Rome Statute establishing an international forum to try cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity where state courts failed to take action.
The countries said to have refused to vote for the US resolution are Germany, France, China, Spain, Brazil, Benin, Romania, Chile and Algeria.
Philippines Ambassador Lauro Baja, the current council president, said he doubted the US had the minimum nine Yes votes needed to adopt it.
China's Ambassador Wang Guangya said "I think it's a wise decision because clearly the council is divided on this important issue," adding that the prison scandal in Iraq "certainly had an impact on council members."
Mr Cunningham said that the US "continues to object to the view that the International Criminal Court may exercise jurisdiction over the nationals, including government officials, of states not party to the Rome Statute."
He said the US had already initiated prosecutions related to the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib and had several investigations underway. The United States, he said, had a well functioning system for military justice that would ensure accountability.
In the absence of a new resolution, the US "will need to take into account the risk of ICC review when determining contributions to UN authorised or established operations," he said.
Coincidentally, yesterday the ICC's Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, announced the opening of the court's first formal investigation, into alleged atrocities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
In April the government of the DRC asked for the court's help prosecuting crimes on its territory. The ICC prosecutor decided that there was sufficient evidence against individuals suspected of war crimes.
The ICC has 18 judges elected by the UN, including Irish judge Maureen Harding Clark. It has jurisdiction over individuals, rather than states, who commit war crimes on the territory of a signatory state and over crimes committed anywhere in the world, which are referred to it by the UN Security Council.
The court may also prosecute those in authority who order war crimes to be committed, including heads of state and government officials.