Nobel peace laureate and former US president Jimmy Carter, and Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, said on Wednesday they support the international war crimes court, despite Washington’s decision to suspend military aid to countries which do not exempt US citizens from prosecution.
The support from Carter and Garzon, who led international efforts to prosecute former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet for war crimes, came on the first anniversary of the International Criminal Tribunal (ICC)’s existence.
”It is my hope that as the court begins its work, the sight of mass murderers and others being held accountable will send a strong message to the United States… about the power of law and collective international action,” Carter said in a letter published on Wednesday by the ICC.
The high-profile Garzon said ”sooner or later countries such as the United States will realise that the best option for peace is the ICC and they will join our ranks”.
The United States on Tuesday suspended military aid amounting to $47-million to 35 countries who refused to sign immunity deals with Washington over the ICC.
Of the around 90 states that have signed the treaty creating the permanent war crimes court, 31 have signed bilateral deals with Washington to guarantee the immunity of US citizens.
The United States fears the court, the world’s first permanent international court to try cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, could become a forum for politically motivated prosecutions of US citizens and has been on a worldwide campaign to sign immunity deals.
Created by the 1998 Rome Statute, the ICC is mandated to try grave breaches of international humanitarian law. The court, which has its headquarters in The Hague, became a legal reality on July 1 2002. – Sapa-AFP