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Belgium passes watered-down war crimes legislation

The Belgian Senate gave final approval to a scaled-down war crimes law that the government hopes will repair relations with Washington and preserve Belgium's role as host to NATO headquarters.

The bill passed Friday by a vote of 39 to 4, with 20 abstentions, after easily clearing the lower house Tuesday. It will take effect after it is signed by King Albert II, a formality.

The biggest change is the dropping of the "universal jurisdiction" in the 1993 original, which had resulted in politically embarrassing complaints against US President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, among others.

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld threatened in June to move NATO headquarters out of Brussels unless the law was scrapped, and Belgium's EU partners also expressed concern.

US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher was cautiously optimistic that the new law would address US concerns.

"Whether the problem is resolved will be judged by the results, whether the complaints naming US officials are dismissed and whether future ones are prevented," he said in Washington.

The new law allows cases to be brought only if the victim or suspect is a Belgian citizen or long-term resident at the time of the alleged crime. It also guarantees diplomatic immunity for world leaders and other government officials visiting Belgium.

"Unhappily, the noble cause that prompted the parliament to adopt this law was hit with abuse and manipulated for political ends," Foreign Minister Louis Michel told the Senate before the vote.
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