Germany, France Abstain in U.N. Vote to Give Americans Immunity
June 13, 2003
In a 12-0 vote, the Security Council passed a U.S.-backed measure giving immunity to U.N. peacekeeping personnel from countries that have not ratified the statutes of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The United States has not ratified the ICC treaty, fearing that its soldiers could be the target of politically-motivated prosecutions.
Although both France and Germany are strong supporters of the ICC, they chose to abstain rather than vote against Washington. Both countries are keen not to reopen the wounds caused by disagreement over the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Syria also abstained.
"For us it was a matter of principle," said Germany's U.N. ambassador, Gunter Pleuger, according to the Reuters news agency.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan argued that the immunity should not be made permanent and questioned the legality of the measure. Last year's vote on the issue was passed 15-0 after the United States threatened to veto U.N. peacekeeping missions.
Starting later this year in The Hague, the ICC will be the first global court aimed at prosecuting genocide and other crimes against humanity. Ninety countries have ratified the court's treaty, which was modified to address American concerns. But the United States refused to back the ICC calling it a “fatally flawed” institution.
U.S. seeks bilateral agreements
To circumvent the ICC, the Bush administration has negotiated several bilateral agreements barring individual governments from surrendering American citizens to the court. The one-year extension will give Washington more time to set up accords with governments around the globe. The United States has so far signed agreements with 37 countries – primarily poor, small ones in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
On Monday, Washington charged the European Union with actively undermining its efforts to shield Americans from prosecution by the ICC, according to a Washington Post report.
In an unusually tough, confidential diplomatic letter sent to EU governments last week and uncovered by the newspaper, the United States accuses a number of EU ambassadors of "lobbying against U.S. bilateral efforts" outside of the extended European community. The memo warned that the impact on transatlantic relations will be "very damaging" if the EU does not stop.
"This will undercut all our efforts to repair and rebuild the transatlantic relationship just as we are taking a turn for the better after a number of difficult months," the confidential memo, known as a démarche, reads. "We are dismayed that the European Union would actively seek to undermine U.S. efforts."
The dispute may come to a head at a planned summit of European and U.S. leaders in Washington on June 25.