Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-07-03-Speech-3-168"
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"en.20020703.5.3-168"2
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". – Mr President, two days ago the International Criminal Court entered into force. This is very much welcomed. Bringing to justice those individuals who commit the most serious crimes against humanity, including genocide, widespread murder of civilians, torture and mass rape, is one of the major objectives of the EU's human rights policy. The creation of an International Criminal Court is central to this fight. By investigating and bringing to justice such individuals, the Court provides an essential means of promoting respect for international humanitarian law and human rights.
There are further grounds for concern at the possible impact of the ASPA. By prohibiting cooperation between its own judicial and law enforcement authorities and the ICC, the ASPA could set back the cause of the international fight against terror.
Last, but not least, there is a particularly disturbing provision authorising the President to use any means necessary to bring about the release of US personnel being detained at the request of the ICC, including on the territory of EU Member States. In the light of these considerations, the European Union could not and did not remain silent. The EU reaction was discussed at the General Affairs Council of 17 June, where we adopted conclusions expressing our concerns at the ASPA's provisions. We also agreed upon a strategy for presenting our concerns to the United States in a coordinated fashion.
On 19 June the Spanish ambassador to the United States, together with the Commission's head of delegation in Washington, presented an agreed statement on behalf of the EU Member States to the US Department of State. At the same time, EU ambassadors wrote to senior figures in the US Administration, as well as to senior congressmen, conveying their grave concern at the contents of the ASPA. On 20 June US ambassadors in EU capitals, as well as the US ambassador to the EU, were summoned to be informed of the EU's position.
We sincerely hope that this series of interventions will persuade the US Administration to withhold its support from this piece of legislation and prevent it from becoming US law. I trust that the Council and the Commission can rely on the full support of the European Parliament in carrying through this strategy. I would therefore like to encourage you, as legislators, to take up this issue with your counterparts in the US Congress, whether through the legislators' dialogue, or any other contacts you may have with the Hill.
As the democratically elected representatives of the people of Europe, you are best placed to carry this message to the US Congress. I am looking forward to seeing Parliament make its views known this afternoon in no uncertain way as you debate and adopt a resolution on this issue.
The European Union stands firm in its commitment to the ICC. Now that the Rome Statute has entered into force, the ICC is finally a reality. However, the hardest work still lies ahead of us. We need to give the ICC real teeth so that it stands as a genuine disincentive to those who imagine they can get away with committing the most heinous crimes against humanity.
In this context, the withdrawal by the United States of its signature from the Rome Statute came as a blow to the international community as it strives to prevent a repeat of the atrocities which have plagued recent conflicts. The fact that the world's greatest military power is not with us is a blow – there is no denying this.
This is not the first time in recent history that Europe has taken the lead and set the international agenda. Many wrote off the Kyoto Protocol after the withdrawal of the United States, but the EU pressed on and ratified Kyoto, setting an example which was followed by the global community to deliver a genuine prospect for tackling the problem of climate change. We intend to do the same to make the ICC a working institution for global justice.
As an independent nation, the United States has a sovereign right not to participate in the ICC if that is its wish. In telling the world on 6 May that it did not intend to ratify the Rome Statute, the United States also gave assurances that it would not actively seek to undermine the work of the International Criminal Court, nor dissuade others from ratifying the Rome Statute. Therefore the decision by the US Senate on 6 June to adopt its own version of the American Servicemembers' Protection Act (ASPA), previously adopted by the US House of Representatives, came as a great surprise and disappointment to many of America's allies and partners.
We are hopeful that modifications can still be made to the text in the House and Senate Conference that would help dilute the impact of this legislation. The ASPA's provisions, as currently drafted, are a grave cause for concern to supporters of the ICC for several reasons. By attempting to prohibit military assistance to nations which ratify the ICC, the ASPA could dissuade countries from participating in it. By seeking to remove US personnel operating under UN mandate from the jurisdiction of the ICC, the ASPA might restrict US participation in peace-keeping operations.
We are already seeing the dramatic effect that this could have on the work of the UN to maintain peace and stability in hot spots across the globe. The US move to oppose the renewal of the UN's mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina threatens to undo years of work by the international community to rebuild that fractured community.
The Commission's first analysis identifies several potentially negative effects on the political environment and Rule of Law in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Not least of these is the counter-terrorism work being carried out by the international police task force within Bosnian territory.
The EU is working around the clock with the UN and other partners, including the United States, to find a solution to this crisis. But on one thing we stand firm. We will not allow the ICC to be handicapped from birth by excluding the work of the United Nations from its jurisdiction. There must be equality under the law regardless of nationality."@en1
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