(Petaling Jaya, Tuesday): The Prime Minister,
Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad should urge United States President Bush to
revoke the US repudiation of the International Criminal Court as it makes a
total mockery of the US global war against
terrorism.
Last week,
the Bush administration formally revoked the US
support of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
This was the worst case
of American isolationism under Bush as it was
not only out of step with America’s allies but threw the United States
into opposition against the most important new institution for enforcing human
rights in 50 years.
The
message of the US “unsigning”
the Rome Treaty is that the United
States is prepared to hold every other state to account for the acts of
terrorism of their nationals but it would not subject its citizens to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court
designed to prosecute individuals for genocide, crime against humanity and other
war crimes – that international
criminal justice is a one-way street as far as the US is concerned, applying to
citizens of other countries but not to Amercans.
Unless the United
States reverses its stand on the International Criminal Court, its war on
terrorism will ring hollow and will only foster the anti-Americanism that led to
September 11 in the first place.
It is most ironic that
in repudiating the ICC, Bush has lined up alongside with countries such as Iraq
and North Korea – two of the countries which he had condemned as part of the “axis of evil”!
The “unsigning” of
the Rome Treaty is also the height
of international irresponsibility as it is unheard of for a nation that signed a
treaty to withdraw that signature – as it will open the Pandora’s box with
other governments taking the
American nullification of its signature on the Rome Treaty as an opportunity to
unsign other treaties, which will be a major setback to international
co-operation and relations.
Despite
the US revocation, the International Criminal Court will begin operations next
year in The Hague as more than the required number of 60 nations had signed the
treaty and the court's jurisdiction
will cover crimes committed after July 1 of this year.
Most
democratic nations and all European Union countries have ratified the treaty —
except Greece, which is in the process of doing so — along with Canada, New
Zealand and a number of African, Eastern European and Central Asian countries.
However,
for Mahathir to be able to convincingly and effectively convey to Bush the
international outrage at the
irresponsible isolationalism and exceptionalism of the US in repudiating the
Rome Treaty and to ask Bush review the US revocation , Malaysia must be able to set a good example with Mahathir informing
Bush that Malaysia, which had not signed and ratified the ICC Statute, would be doing so as a responsible member of
the international community!
(14/5/2002)