By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – On Thursday, the United States ambassador for war crimes spoke to the governing body of  the International Criminal Court in the Hague. It was the first time that a U.S. official has spoken to the governing body of the ICC since its inception. The ICC was created by the 2002 Rome Treaty.  The U.S. supported the creation of the ICC, but has not become a signatory of the treaty.

Before becoming the U.S. ambassador for war crimes, Rapp served as the chief prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Rapp gave a speech to the governing body of the ICC expressing U.S. interests and issues with it.  Rapp stated that the U.S. has concerns with the ICC. Those concerns primarily revolved around the crime of aggression. The first concern was to define the crime of aggression.  The second concern dealt with the ICC’s jurisdiction. Rapp stated that jurisdiction over aggression “should follow a Security Council resolution that aggression has occurred.” Another concern that the U.S. has with the ICC is the threat of politically motivated prosecutions. More specifically, the U.S. was concerned with the ICC prosecuting United States soldiers based upon politics.

Despite U.S. concerns, it still supports prosecuting crimes that go against the basic morals of humanity.  Rapp stated that the U.S. has supported the prosecutions of atrocities dating back to the Nuremberg Trials after World War II. The U.S. also participated in the prosecutions for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

Supporters of the ICC welcomed Rapp’s attendance and speech to the governing body. They saw his appearance as a “sign of re-engagement.” Nevertheless, many of the countries under the ICC’s jurisdiction do not want the Security Council to have sole jurisdiction on when a crime of aggression occurs.

Today, one hundred and ten countries are members of the ICC. Besides the U.S., other countries that are not members of the ICC are Russia, Israel, and China. The ICC can only prosecute those individuals from the countries that are members.

For more information, please see:

AP – Not a Member, US Envoy Attends International Court – 19 November 2009

BBC – US War Crimes Envoy Appears at International Court – 19 November 2009

Reuters – U.S. Makes Debut Attendance at Hague War Crimes Court – 19 November 2009