The Role of the United States in International Criminal Justice
Historically, criminal justice is traditionally linked to a court of justice, wherein a trial determines whether a person is innocent or guilty. As an example, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on Dec. 10, 1948, affirms that everyone has the right to an independent and impartial trial when charged with a criminal offense. As a member of the United Nations, the United States' role in international criminal justice is thus defined by its involvement in international criminal court.
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Court
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The International Criminal Court (ICC) is established for promoting the rule of law and ensuring that grave international crimes are addressed and that criminals are punished, according to the American Non-Governmental Organization Coalition for the International Criminal Court (AMICC). As of June 1, 2010, there were 111 state parties and 139 signatories associated with the ICC. The United States, on May 6, 2002, expressed it would not be associated with the ICC.
Questions
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Many raised questions about why the United States refused association with the ICC. The organization Global Issues asked: Why would a country, often vocal in the area of human rights, and often amongst the first promoting human rights as a global issue in the past, refuse association with an international institution designed to protect human rights?
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Answers
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"The New York Times" reports that since the ICC can only try individuals for crimes, there was a special concern regarding U.S. soldiers being tried in the court, thus undermining U.N. peacekeeping operations. According to some reports, the United States threatened military force if U.S. nationals were held by the court, which opened its doors on July 1, 2002, in the Netherlands.
Progress
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This opposition came mostly during George W. Bush's presidency. The Obama Administration has been reviewing the U.S. policy regarding the ICC. In a January 2010 speech at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Stephen J. Rapp, the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, noted that the U.S. would not likely join the ICC in the foreseeable future.
Considerations
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While not currently joined with the ICC, the Obama administration has expressed a desire for cooperation with the ICC, supporting its investigations and prosecutions. The U.S. is also offering occasional assistance to the ICC, as in the May 24, 2010 signing of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009. In signing this act into law, President Obama acknowledged the ICC's role in addressing crimes committed by the LRA and stated that U.S. policy supports bringing the LRA leadership to justice, according to the AMICC.
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References
Resources
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