- UNITED NATIONS (Reuters)
- More than a dozen countries this week beat a Sunday deadline to sign
the treaty establishing the first permanent global criminal court, with
the United States and Israel wavering until the last minute.
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- The court, based on the principles of Nazi war crime
trials at the end of World War II, would try individuals accused of the
most heinous atrocities -- mass murders, war crimes and other gross human
rights violations. It would be set up in the Netherlands.
- This week, the number of signatories rose to 136 after
Algeria, Cape Verde, Guyana, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sao Tome and Principe,
Egypt, Yemen, Bahamas, Mongolia, Tanzania and Uzbekistan all signed. Iran
is expected to sign on Sunday, a U.N. spokesman said on Friday.
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- A signature signals a country's political support for
the International Criminal Court and its intention eventually to ratify
the treaty through national legislatures. The tribunal comes into force
when 60 countries have ratified; 27 nations have done so.
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- After Sunday, a nation can only ratify but no longer
sign the treaty, which means it would lose influence during negotiations
among countries on the court's procedures.
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- Israel, whose government is divided on the treaty, has
made an appointment to sign late on Sunday. But its U.N. ambassador, Yehuda
Lancry, is first awaiting a cabinet decision about whether to go ahead,
U.N. sources said.
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- Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami as well as Justice
Minister Yossi Beilin are in favour of signing it but there is opposition
in the government because of some provisions, now slightly revised, about
transfer of populations.
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- CLINTON WAVERING
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- The Clinton administration, under strong pressure from
the Pentagon, has held off signing the treaty until it gets airtight guarantees
that no U.S. serviceman or other government official abroad would be subject
to the court's jurisdiction.
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- Asked on Thursday about signing, U.S. President Bill
Clinton told reporters: "I haven't decided that. I have a couple of
days, and I'm getting the last paper on it, and then I'm going to discuss
it with our people."
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- Leading Republicans in Congress, who have mounted an
effective drive against the treaty, believe the court should not exist
at all without, at minimum, a strong role for the U.N. Security Council,
in which the United States has a veto.
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- Richard Dicker, associate counsel of the activist group
Human Rights Watch, said Clinton would do a great service to future negotiations
on the issue as well as his legacy by signing the treaty.
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- Not signing, he said, "will be a failure that history
will judge harshly."
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- Even if the Clinton does sign, no one expects the U.S.
Congress to ratify the treaty for years, even decades.
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- Leading Republicans, with some support from former Democratic
officials, have drafted legislation that would ban any U.S. cooperation
with the court, including giving it information on war criminals. It also
would exclude military assistance for any countries, except NATO members
and "major non-NATO allies," if they ratified the treaty.
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- Marc Thiessen, spokesman for the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, has pointed to Israel's refusal to sign as proof the court would
be politically motivated.
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- All of the U.S. allies have signed the treaty and some
-- including Italy, France, Canada, Norway, New Zealand, Germany, Austria,
Spain, South Africa, Belgium, Austria and Finland -- are among those that
have ratified it. Britain is expected to follow with ratification within
the next few months.
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