Liberian Lives in the Balance as U.S. Demands Impunity

Human Rights First

To pursue�its political agenda to undermine the International Criminal Court, the United States is risking the prospect that�UN intervention in battle-scarred Liberia will be delayed or even scuttled,�the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights warned today.�

The UN Security Council is poised to adopt a resolution Friday mandating a multinational military force to stabilize Liberia and prepare for a UN peacekeeping force in the next few months.�But as deaths rise above 1,000 and factional fighting leaves tens of thousands of Liberians homeless and facing starvation and disease, the U.S. is reigniting the debate over exemption from ICC prosecution for personnel involved in UN- authorized operations.
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Deployment of the multinational force could be held up by�U.S. insistence on�a clause�in the draft�UN Security Council�resolution�that�would provide�permanent, blanket immunity from possible ICC prosecution to all UN�authorized personnel in Liberia.�
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"The US position is wrong and ill-advised" said�Mike Posner,�Executive Director of the Lawyers Committee,�"No one should be shielded from prosecution for committing systematic war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide."
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This is not the first time the United States has sought immunity from ICC prosecution�for peacekeepers�and other UN authorized personnel.�In 2002, the United States�succeeded in obtaining a controversial one-year exemption, renewed for another 12 months on June 12 this year.��But other Council members, including France and Germany,�sent a clear message to the US not to expect this temporary exemption to become permanent, stating that a permanent exemption would�undermine the�Court's authority�and�illegally amend the treaty that created the�Court -- a power not granted to the Security Council by the UN Charter. Now�the United States�is re-opening the issue.�
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"Stripping the�permanent exemption�language�from this resolution is critical�because the Liberia resolution will set a precedent for how the Security Council handles this issue in the future" said�Posner. "It's critical that states who have been so supportive of the Court to date, continue to hold the line."