Malaysian Government should condemn US veto of  six-month extension of UN peace-keeping mission because of US opposition to International Criminal Court (ICC) and Cabinet on Wednesday should  take policy decision to ratify the Rome Treaty on setting up of ICC


Media Statement 
by Lim Kit Siang

(Petaling Jaya,  Monday): The Malaysian Government should condemn the United States veto in the United Nations  Security Council yesterday of the  resolution to  extend the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Bosnia because of its opposition to the setting up of the International Criminal Court(ICC). 

Yesterday was a historic occasion for the world with the coming into force of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court after its ratification by 74 countries -  paving the way for the  world's first permanent war crimes court at the Hague to start work today with authority over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes as of July 1, 2002.

Under the Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court will have jurisdiction over the prosecution of anyone -- from a head of state to an ordinary citizen --  for human rights violations, including systematic murder, torture, rape and sexual slavery.

But it was also a day of infamy for the United States, as the celebration of the  creation  of the world’s most important new institution for enforcing human rights in 50 years had been marred by the selfish,  unilateral, high-handed and arbitrary action of US President Bush, which made a total mockery of his war against terrorism and reeked of hypocrisy and double-standards in holding every other state to account for the acts of terrorism of their nationals but would not subject its citizens  to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court for  genocide, crime against humanity and other war crimes. 

To Bush, international criminal justice is a one-way street, which applies only  to citizens of other countries but not to Americans! 

The action of the Bush administration is even more reprehensible as it had revoked and “unsigned” the US support of the Rome Statute under the Clinton administration, which was the height of international irresponsibility as it is unheard of for a nation that signed a treaty to withdraw that signature, representing  a major setback to international co-operation and relations. 

The first action of the unilateralist and isolationist Bush administration in its opposition to the ICC was the US veto against the other 14 members of the UN Security  Council for a six-month extension of the UN peace-keeping mission in Bosnia as it wanted blanket immunity for  American peacekeeper to be exempt from arrest and prosecution by the tribunal. 

The Malaysian Government should make clear its condemnation of the Bush Administration’s attempt to wreck the International Criminal Court and UN peacekeeping, which had in no way been ameliorated by the subsequent US support yesterday for an unanimous Security Council resolution to extend the US peacekeeping mission in Bosnia by three more days. 

The Cabinet on Wednesday should take a policy decision to ratify the Rome Statute, as Malaysia must not be seen as  taking the side of President Bush  in wanting to wreck the International Criminal Court and UN peacekeeping forces by refusing to ratify the Rome Treaty. 

It is a blot in Malaysia’s international diplomacy that we are not one of the first 60 countries to ratify  the 1998 Rome Treaty to bring the International Criminal Court into existence.   Under the Rome Treaty, the Court can be established following the 60th ratification, which took place on 11th April 2002. The first ratification was in February 1999. 

Foreign Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, should explain why Malaysia had not been one of the first 60 countries to ratify the Rome Treaty and why up to now the government is not prepared to endorse the establishment of the International Criminal Court. 

(1/7/2002)


*Lim Kit Siang - DAP National Chairman