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.
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
Indonesian police have arrested 13 people after shocking images of alleged abuse against small children at a daycare center went viral, sparking outrage across the nation, officials said on Monday. Police on Friday last week raided Little Aresha, a daycare center in Yogyakarta on Java island, following a report from a former employee. CCTV footage circulating on social media showed children, most younger than two, lying on the floor wearing only diapers, their hands and feet bound with rags. The police have confirmed that the footage is authentic. Police said they also found 20 children crammed into a room just 3m by 3m. “So
About 240 Indians claiming descent from a Biblical tribe landed at Tel Aviv airport on Thursday as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel. The newcomers passed under a balloon arch in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, as dozens of well-wishers welcomed them with a traditional Jewish song. They were the first “bnei Menashe” (“sons of Manasseh”) to arrive in Israel since the government in November last year announced funding for the immigration of about 6,000 members of the community from the states of Manipur and Mizoram in northeast India. The community claims to descend from
‘TROUBLING’: The firing of Phelan, who was an adviser to a nonprofit that supported the defense of Taiwan, was another example of ‘dysfunction’ under Trump, a US senator said US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has been fired, a US official and a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in another wartime shakeup at the Pentagon coming just weeks after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ousted the Army’s top general. The Pentagon announced his departure in a brief statement, saying he was leaving the administration “effective immediately,” but it did not provide a reason or say whether it was his decision to go. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Phelan was dismissed in part because he was moving too slowly to implement reforms to
RSS