United Nations Wire

September 29, 2000

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: Annan Appeals For US Support

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday appealed to US lawyers to persuade skeptics of the benefits of the proposed International Criminal Court (ICC). "If states do not live by international law, they are condemned to live by the law of the jungle," he told the advisory board of Harvard Law School. "That cannot be in the interest of even the greatest power on earth, for all power has its limits, both in time and space."

While Annan targeted no one specifically, his remarks were aimed at opponents such as US Senator Jesse Helms, who has led efforts to block US ratification of the July 1998 Rome Statute that created the ICC. Helms, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, demands that US citizens be immune to the court's jurisdiction.

Supporters of the court have argued that the ICC's statute prevents it from prosecuting accused war criminals whose countries have functioning and effective judicial systems.

The court would hold trials for those indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide (Agence France-Presse, 29 Sep). A possible fourth category is crimes of aggression, but no consensus has been reached on a specific definition for the term.

The ICC would also include a provision for extradition, making it much more difficult for those guilty of war crimes to hide (Jakarta Post, 29 Sep).

Annan told the lawyers that 112 nations have signed the Rome Statute, and 20 countries have ratified it. The statute requires 60 ratifications before the court comes into force (AFP).