- (AFP) -- India and the United States signed a pact under
which they agreed not to send each other's nationals to a world tribunal,
in a victory for Washington's efforts to scuttle the International Criminal
Court.
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- At least 14 other countries have already signed such
agreements with the United States, but India is significant as most of
the others are small or closely identified as US allies.
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- The US-India agreement states there will be "non-extradition
of nationals of either country to any international tribunal without the
other country's express consent."
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- It was signed by Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal,
the top bureaucrat in the foreign ministry, and the US ambassador to India,
Robert Blackwill.
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- "India and the United States share the strongest
possible commitment to bringing to justice those who commit war crimes,
crimes against humanity and genocide," Blackwill told reporters after
the signing.
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- "However, we are concerned about the International
Criminal Court (ICC) treaty with respect to the adequacy of checks and
balances, the impact of the treaty on national sovereignty and the potential
for conflict with the UN Charter," he said.
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- US President George W. Bush's administration strongly
opposes the ICC, saying the tribunal could bring politically motivated
charges against Americans, including civilian military contractors and
former officials.
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- The Rome statute setting up the ICC was signed by former
US president Bill Clinton, but he urged his successor not to ratify participation
in the court until Washington resolved its concerns.
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- India has neither signed nor ratified the ICC.
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- Nonetheless, a total of 139 countries have signed the
Rome statute and 87 have ratified it, according to non-governmental organizations.
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- The ICC enjoys support of many US allies, particularly
in Europe and it officially opened in The Hague in July. Eighteen judges
are expected to be elected to the world's first permanent international
court in February.
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- The court theoretically has universal jurisdiction, but
can only prosecute if the state where the crimes were committed or the
state of the nationality of the accused are party to the statute.
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- Faced with the creation of the ICC, the United States
has instead been trying to reach bilateral agreements under which countries
will pledge not to extradite any US national to an international court.
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- Others that have signed non-extradition agreements with
Washington are Afghanistan, the Dominican Republic, East Timor, El Salvador,
Gambia, Honduras, Israel, the Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia,
Palau, Romania, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
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- John Bolton, the US under secretary of state for arms
control and international security, said November 14 that Washington was
focusing its efforts on non-extradition with countries in South Asia and
the Middle East.
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- But US officials have been quiet about which specific
countries were being targetted for immunity deals to avoid pressure being
placed on the governments in question.
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- An Indian official said New Delhi was disappointed with
the ICC because it did not see the court playing a role in the fight against
international terrorism.
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- India was an early supporter of the United Nations and
other international institutions, but over time has become angered by periodic
attempts by Pakistan to bring the Kashmir dispute to global fora.
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- The Indian side of divided Kashmir is in the throes of
a bloody 13-year Islamic separatist insurgency which New Delhi accuses
Pakistan of supporting.
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- "This accord is emblematic of the continuing cooperation
between India and the United States," India's foreign ministry spokesman
Navtej Sarna told reporters.
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- India immediately joined the US-led "coalition against
terrorism" last year and in May the countries held their first joint
military exercises in nearly four decades.
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