Enviado por Human Rights Watch

EE.UU. anula la firma del Presidente Clinton en el tratado que crea la Corte
Penal Internacional

(Nueva York, 6 de mayo de 2002) - Human Rights Watch denuncia esta decisión sin
precedentes y la califica de un gesto vacío que terminará por alienar más aún a
los EE.UU. ubicándolo en el lado equivocado de la historia. Para Human Rights
Watch aquí ha triunfado una visión ideológica por encima de cualquier análisis
racional de como combatir los más graves crímenes de derechos humanos. Los
EE.UU. se aislarán de sus aliados en la lucha contra el terrorismo, quienes en
su gran mayoria apoyan la Corte.

United States "Unsigning" Treaty on War Crimes Court
White House Move Is "On the Wrong Side of History"
(New York, May 6, 2002) The Bush Administration's decision to effectively
withdraw the U.S. signature from the treaty establishing the International
Criminal Court is an empty gesture that will further estrange Washington from
its closest allies, Human Rights Watch said today.

"The administration is putting itself on the wrong side of history. 'Unsigning'
the treaty will not stop the court. It will only throw the United States into
opposition against the most important new institution for enforcing human rights
in fifty years."
Kenneth Roth
Executive Director of Human Rights Watch

In an unprecedented diplomatic maneuver, Under Secretary of State Marc Grossman
is expected to announce today that the Bush administration does not consider
itself bound by President Clinton's December 31, 2000 signature on the treaty to
create a permanent war crimes tribunal.

The International Criminal Court treaty has already received more than the
requisite number of 60 ratifications, and its jurisdiction will commence after
July 1, 2002, with or without the U.S. signature. The court will try people
accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. All of Western
Europe and virtually every major U.S. ally are strong supporters of the court.
The only states still actively opposing the court are the United States and
Libya.

The U.S. government has said that it fears U.S. servicemembers or officials
could be brought before the court in politically motivated cases. But the
International Criminal Court will only take on cases that national courts are
demonstrably unable or unwilling to prosecute. The treaty for the court includes
numerous safeguards to protect against frivolous or unwarranted prosecutions.
The key, said Roth, is to ensure that they are applied conscientiously.

"U.S. disengagement from the court will squander U.S. influence on some critical
issues that this fledgling court is facing," said Roth. "We see here a triumph
of ideology over any rational assessment of how to combat the worst human rights
crimes."

In a May 3 letter to President George W. Bush, Roth urged him not to "unsign"
the treaty, saying that such an action could come back to haunt Washington if it
encourages governments around the world to "unsign" other treaties that they
have not yet ratified.

The renunciation of U.S. signature appears certain to aggravate relations with
the European Union and the emerging democracies who are among the court's
strongest supporters. Many states that have made the transition from
dictatorship to democracy, such as South Africa and Argentina, have already
ratified the treaty and view the court as an important insurance policy against
retrenchment.

In June 2001, the E.U. issued a Common Position expressing full support for the
early establishment of the International Criminal Court, and encouraging the
Bush administration to cooperate with the court. Other than the United States,
138 governments have signed the treaty and 66 have ratified it.

"The timing of this decision couldn't be worse for Washington," said Roth. "It
puts the Bush Administration in the awkward position of seeking law-enforcement
cooperation in tracking down terrorist suspects while opposing an historic new
law-enforcement institution for comparably serious crimes."



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REDH (Red Solidaria por los Derechos Humanos)
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