December 10, 1996.

A World Criminal Court Is Urgently Needed

Rights: a permanent tribunal could deal promptly with genocide and

other crimes against humanity

by JIMMY CARTER

[Excerpted]

....The responsibility falls upon the international community to ensure

the effective functioning of the tribunals by investing resources and

political will. One place to start is for all nations to enact laws

that enable them to extradite indicted war criminals to the Hague.

The permanent court is needed so that any future cases can be

brought forward quickly without waiting years for procedures and

structures to be built, as had been the case with the special

tribunals. The U.S. government should play a leadership role in

ensuring that the permanent court can work independently from political

pressures.

In that light, a U.S. proposal to grant the U.N. Security

Council control over prosecutions in the court would undermine its very

purpose. Such a move rightly would be seen by many nations as a means

for serving only the interests of the permanent members of the Security

Council.

The court will not be a panacea, but it will be good for

America and the world. Meanwhile, all nations should consider it their

duty to ensure that the existing tribunals overcome current

difficulties and complete their work as expeditiously and effectively

as possible.