The administration of US President George W. Bush is attempting to avoid defeat of its UN resolution seeking an exemption for US soldiers from international prosecution by offering to extend the measure for one final year only.
Faced with mounting criticism of US abuses of prisoners in Iraq, the US on Tuesday proposed amending a Security Council resolution on the International Criminal Court after it became clear it did not have enough votes.
Instead of pressing for an open-ended renewal of the resolution, first adopted in 2002, US officials said they would not press for a renewal after next June.
Yesterday, the 15 council members were to discuss the issue again, with diplomats speculating the compromise may have softened the opposition enough to give the US the minimum nine votes it needs for adoption.
The new court, based in the Hague, Netherlands and largely financed by Europeans, is to try individuals responsible for the world worst atrocities, including genocide, war crimes and systematic human rights abuses -- a belated effort to fulfill the promise of the Nuremberg trials that prosecuted Nazi leaders after World War II.
But the Bush administration opposes on principle an international court having jurisdiction over US soldiers abroad and anticipates frivolous prosecutions, although the court can only hear complaints against a person from a nation that was unable or unwilling to press charges.
This would exclude the US and the abuses in Iraq, which Washington is investigating.
In presenting the compromise, James Cunningham, the deputy US ambassador, told reporters the the US was "more comfortable" with a year's renewal of the resolution because it had obtained bilateral agreements from 90 countries that no US soldiers or government officials would be prosecuted.
"The United States is the biggest provider of global security and we have special concerns in this area, as we've made clear over the past couple of years," Cunningham said.
Before seeking a vote he said "we would like to know if this approach of ours will provide a basis for going forward" and avoid "divisiveness in the council." He said the resolution was "causing increasing discomfort in the council, and we're aware of that."
The council has scheduled an opened debate on Thursday after which diplomats say the US would like a vote.
The resolution was first adopted in 2002 after the US began to veto UN peacekeeping operations.
Last week, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the Security Council to oppose the US resolution, saying it would undermine international law and send an "unfortunate signal any time -- but particularly at this time."
This convinced enough council members to consider an abstention to defeat the measure. Among them were Chile, Benin, Spain, Romania, China, Brazil and Algeria. France, Germany and Brazil, strong supporters of the court, are expected to abstain regardless of the amendment, but other votes are not certain.
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