The American Bar Association (ABA) has long been a strong advocate
of the ICC and United States participation in the Court. The ABA
sent delegates to the Rome Conference that adopted the ICC
Statute in 1998, adopted a resolution and report in support
of the Court and US ratification of the Rome Statute in 2001, and
was a founding member of AMICC.
American lawyers had a first-time opportunity to hear from
a high-level official of the International Criminal Court
(ICC) what practicing in front of the Court will be like.
In August 2003, AMICC sponsored the participation of Mr. Bruno
Cathala, the newly elected ICC Registrar, as a featured speaker
at the ABA Annual Meeting
in San Francisco. The Registrar, with the judges and the Prosecutor,
is one of the top officials of the Court. As the senior administrator
and manager of the ICC, he has the fundamental and arduous
responsibility of providing assistance, facilities, and support
not only to the judges and the prosecutor, but also to attorneys
representing defendants, victims, and witnesses.
The ABA was a leading voice in
the formation of the independent International Criminal Bar
(ICB) for counsel appearing before the ICC. The ABA formally
joined the ICB in July and confirmed the election of David
Stoelting, the ABA's representative to AMICC, to the ICB Counsel
at the San Francisco meeting. The ABA credited the Registrar's
presentation toward the Continuing Legal Education requirements
which lawyers must meet to maintain their licenses.
Amnesty International launched a worldwide petition
for individuals around the world to call on all governments
to refuse to enter into impunity agreements currently being
proposed by the United States not to surrender US nationals
accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes
to the new International Criminal Court. It submitted the
final petition to all governments. All signatures received
by 27 September were submitted to EU Ministers of Foreign
Affairs who will meet to consider the issue on 30 September.
Amnesty is also building up a list of members who are interested
in the ICC and is interested in creating materials that can
be used for public outreach.
Baha'is of the United States report that the US Conference
of Religions for Peace members, including 70 national religious
organizations, has written an educational piece on the ICC
and that the piece will be used to educate its membership
and the religious supporting public at large. A Baha'i quarterly
called 'World Order' will feature Human Rights and ICC issues
in an upcoming edition.
Almost 70 celebrities have signed onto a letter of support
for the Citizens for Global Solutions' Victim's Trust Fund (VTF) Campaign and the
ICC. VTF tool kits are available on the campaign
website, including information on issues areas such as
religion, children, women and victims in relation to the ICC.
The campaign will be ongoing.
Council for American Students in International Negotiations (CASIN) (formerly the Independent Student Coalition for the ICC (ISC-ICC)) has expanded the organization's mandate. As ISC-ICC has had a great deal of success with the Leadership Training Program (LTP), through which over 100 US students have been sent to negotiations on the ICC at the UN and The Hague since the 7th Preparatory Commission back in 2001, and due to the acknowledgement that there is a real niche to be filled by the work that they do with the LTP in other issue areas, CASIN has decided to expand the LTP into other issue areas, including sending delegations of US students to negotiations at the UN involving women’s rights, children’s rights, and nuclear disarmament.
CASIN stresses that their ICC programs will continue. The change in focus will not take away from their ICC work, but will enhance it. Students who may be interested in alternative issue areas will now join the organization due to those interests and will be exposed also to the issue of the ICC. This will offer the organization increased relevance to greater numbers of US youth interested in various issues of international relations. For further information, please contact Christina Hartman or visit www.americanstudents.us.
Human Rights First (formerly Lawyer's Committee
for Human Rights) has been comparing US criminal law to
ICC crimes to locate gaps that might affect the US's ability
to exercise complementarity. This information will serve as
basis to encourage legislative initiatives updating US law.
It is also developing an advocacy tool for its website
that will provide information on cases that could come before
the court.
Human Rights First also recognizes that human rights NGOs play a critical role in the documentation of massive violations of human rights and humanitarian law. With the establishment of the ICC, human rights NGOs face new questions regarding their role in relation to ICC investigations and may need to rethink their fact-gathering practices. During the Third Session of the ICC Assembly of States Parties in September 2004, Human Rights First released a discussion paper promoting consideration of these questions.
Human Rights Watch released "The International Criminal Court: How Nongovernmental Organizations Can Contribute To the Prosecution of War Criminals" in September 2004, providing answers to some of the frequently asked questions about the Court. In particular it explains how NGOs can contribute to the Court’s work of prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide at the international level. It does so by answering frequently asked questions about the International Criminal Court and the way NGOs can contribute to its efforts. However, this guide does not provide a legal commentary or detailed explanation of the ICC crimes, nor does it tell the history of the International Criminal Court.
Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy has been working
with the Institute for Energy and Environment to produce a
publication entitled "Rule of Power or Rule of Law?" The piece
contains a section on the ICC and can be found on its website
www.lcnp.org.
It is also now available in paperback. Members of the Lawyer's
Committee will tour US law schools in Spring 2003 to talk
about nuclear disarmament as well as the ICC.
The National Service Conference of the American Ethical
Union reported the new website of the Council of Ethics-Based
Organizations Associated with the Department of Public Information
of the United Nations at www.cebo.org.
The AEU National Assembly, meeting in Philadelphia at the
end of May, will hand out the Victim's Trust Fund packets
to the 25 attending organizations.
The Philadelphia Bar Association reports that it has
discussed the ICC with Senator Specter. Articles on the ICC
are appearing in the Bar Recorder, and ICC talks have been
organized with various groups such as the National Liberty
Museum, and with lawyers in the state. In addition, it has
sent a letter has been sent to the President Bush regarding
the 'unsigning'. On October 24, 2002, it adopted a resolution
following up on an earlier resolution of support, resolving
that: "…the Philadelphia Bar Association, in the interest
of fairness, justice and the rule of law, strongly recommends
that the United States resume its previous involvement in
the ongoing ICC deliberations, albeit as an observer in the
Assembly of States Parties.
The Unitarian Universalist Association is providing
continued active support for the Victim's
Trust Fund Campaign through promotion at an April seminar
and member meetings with local churches. The Canadian Unitarians
will be meeting in the coming weeks, where there will be updates
on what Americans are doing to support the Court. The next
UUA General Assembly meeting will take place during June in
Boston, with John Washburn (AMICC Convener) as a panel speaker.
The United Nations Association of the United States (UNA-USA)
reports that it is working on a radio public service announcement
and a short video, expected to be available in June. See
its press release on the occasion of the swearing in of
the inauguration in the Hague.
The Faith and Ethics Caucus for the ICC is a coalition of
religious, interfaith, ethics and faith-based non-governmental
organizations dedicated to promoting awareness of and support
for the ICC among religious, ecumenical, and ethical communities.
Founded in 1997, the Caucus is co-sponsored by the Coalition
for the ICC (CICC) and the American NGO Coalition for the
ICC (AMICC).
The Caucus has become extremely active since the beginning
of 2003 and has taken on a broad range of new initiatives.
On March 11-12 it will host an experts meeting "Societies
in Transition: The Significance of the ICC in Justice &
Reconciliation." Click here
for more information.
In support of the anniversary of the coming into force of
the Rome Statute, the Caucus ran a congratulatory ad in the
Christian Science Monitor on July 1, 2003. On September 11th,
2003 the Caucus hosted a panel
discussion in New York on religious persecution and the ICC
during the meeting of the ICC's Assembly of States Parties.
The Caucus website will soon feature research on religious
persecution, including theological discussions of the relationship
between confession, repentance, compensation and forgiveness,
and the moral imperatives of retributive and restorative justice.
The Caucus also hopes to support the work of the Court in
The Hague by developing a directory of spiritual counseling
services to assist the Victims & Witnesses Unit, and of
religious scholars competent to identify and assist belief
groups that will come before the Court.
The Caucus welcomes the participation of new member organizations.
Information on their mission and work is available at www.amicc/faith.html.
The Caucus is currently looking for groups to help develop
materials for Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and other faiths.
California
On December 3, 2003, the Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution supporting US participation with the ICC. Congratulations to Sean Butler and the entire California ICC Alliance (ICCA) for their contribution to this effort!
Connecticut
On September 14, 2003, a Connecticut alliance kicked off in Hartford with a brunch for interested local NGOs. Those present agreed to support an alliance. This was followed by a public meeting with remarks and a discussion led by AMICC's convener. We are fortunate that Susan Hambrick, a lawyer and activist with
the Connecticut chapter of the American Friends Service Committee will lead the formation of the alliance. The first priority is a visit by constituents and Connecticut notables to Senator Christopher Dodd.
Maine
On May 1, 2005, the Maine alliance (MAICC) held a panel discussion on Africa and international criminal justice which received local media coverage in the Portland Press Herald.
On September 3, 2004, members of the Maine alliance (MAICC) and the AMICC Secretariat called on Sen. Susan Collins' office, to inform her representatives (Kate Scontras and Bill Card) about the upcoming vote on the Nethercutt Amendment, and its implications on the war on terrorism. The alliance briefed her office on the proposed cuts of Economic Support Fund aid to countries who fail to sign bilateral immunity agreements with the United States.
AMICC has encouraged alliances to contact senators
and representatives who have shown openness to the ICC by
voting against the American Servicemembers Protection Act
(ASPA). In response and as its first activity after organizing,
on August 28, 2003 representatives of MAICC
called Rep. Tom Allen to thank him for his vote and to
seek his advice on approaching other members of the Maine
congressional delegation and about general strategy for the
ICC in Congress. The meeting was cordial and productive. It
was attended by Allen's staffer in Washington responsible
for his positions on the ICC; she will welcome contacts from
our partner organization, the Washington working Group on
the International Criminal Court. MAICC was due to call on
Maine's other representative, Michael Michaud on September
27, 2003.
Also on August 28, 2003, the same MAICC delegation visited the editorial board of the Portland Press Herald. Although the board insisted that the special international status and superpower responsibilities of the United States entitle it to special treatment from the ICC, it did respond to the MAICC argument that an aggressive attack on the Court would neither befit that status nor win that treatment.
MAICC's plans for the future include meetings and speaking
events to raise awareness in the state about the ICC, systematic
placement of the ICC in the regular programs of member organizations,
recruitment of more members and inclusion of accurate information
about the ICC in university and college curricula.
New Mexico
Mary and Roger Schense and Dr. William B. Pratt constitute
an AMICC liaison and alliance formation group in New Mexico.
In response to a presentation by Mrs. Schense on August 21, 2003,
the United Nations Association chapter in New Mexico voted
to sponsor an alliance.
In 2004, the Schenses have worked hard to solidify the alliance. In a remarkable first in state government support for the ICC, Governor Bill Richardsonmai endorsed the Court in his UN Day proclamation on October 8, 2004. Efforts of the New Mexican alliance were featured in the November issue of the Sandoval Signpost, a local newspaper.
The group has also placed op-eds
and letters in local media, made public contacts with representatives
Steve Pearce (potentially positive) and Heather Wilson (ill-informed
and opposed), and visited their offices. Next steps will continuation
of the media campaign and contacts and visits with senators
Bingaman and Domenici and representative Tom Udall.
Click here to see AMICC's
ad in the May/June 2003 issue of Foreign Affairs.
When an injustice has been done, there is an understandable desire to right the wrong. But how do you begin to ameliorate the suffering of a child whose father has been killed in genocide or soothe a woman whose psyche bears the scars of mass rape
at the hands of war criminals? While there is no way to completely
erase their suffering, the Victims Trust Fund of the International
Criminal Court begins to address their pain in a concrete
and humane way.
Established by article 79 of the Rome Statute, the fund is
"for the benefit of victims of crimes within the jurisdiction
of the Court, and of the families of such victims." It is
an independent fund that will provide direct, financial restitution
for the victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity and
genocide. The Fund has three sources of income: fines placed
on those found guilty by the court, voluntary donations by
the States, and individual voluntary donations. The Fund's
resources will assist victims of gross human rights abuses.
Donations to the Fund are not tax deductible.
On April 10, 2003, Citizens for Global Solutions (CGS) launched a coordinated national campaign
to build political will for the ICC through the Victims Trust
Fund. CGS activists and others are sending checks to the
Fund at P.O. Box 15250, Washington, DC 20077 and then sending
letters to their senators with a copy of the check, letting
them know about their support for positive US engagement with
the ICC. In this way, ICC advocates can get across the
message that the American people support the ICC.
April is a month that marks many tragedies: the Rwandan, Armenian,
and Cambodian genocides all began in April, and Holocaust
Memorial Day falls on April 29. But now the ICC will permanently
end impunity for those who order and carry out future genocides,
and the Victims Trust Fund will help the survivors rebuild
their communities. April also marks the end of apartheid in
South Africa. But now the ICC permanently outlaws apartheid,
along with other methods of state terror: enforced disappearances,
torture, systematic persecution, and sexual violence, among
others. After the horrors of the 20th century, the world community
has created an institution of justice and healing that will
make the 21st century more peaceful and humane. It deserves
American support.
This campaign has a number of advantages. First and foremost,
it provides a way to personalize the suffering of victims
of genocide and make it clear that the ICC is not designed
to frivolously prosecute American political leaders. Second,
even a small number of checks will make a powerful statement.
Moreover, in states where there are no formal ICC advocacy
organizations, individual supporters can have a tremendous
impact. For the purposes of this campaign, the quantity of
checks sent rather than the amount of money donated is what
will make a difference. Finally, this project will provide
a vehicle for local ICC advocates to educate friends, colleagues
and local leaders in their local community about the Court
within a very understandable context of alleviating human
suffering.
As of June 15, 2004, 817 checks have been received, raising
$12,932 for the Fund. Please join notables such as President
Jimmy Carter, Martin Sheen, Noah Wyle, and Bonnie Raitt in
supporting this campaign.
Click
here to go to the Victim's Trust Fund Campaign website
and learn more.
Letters to the Editor
The May 2004 issue of The American Legion Magazine has on
page 22 a dangerous and dishonest article attacking the ICC.
We ask your help in countering it. The article, Tied
Down, claims that the International Criminal Court is
intended and designed to restrict the United States in carrying
out its superpower responsibilities. It follows upon two previous
articles attacking the Court (Unauthorized
Authority [10/02]; God
Giveth, the ICC Taketh Away [10/03]). We asked for letters
and interventions on the first of these because we feared
that it might lead to an anti-ICC resolution at a Legion national
convention. Fortunately, that has not happened.
Now, veterans' organizations are important to both sides in
the presidential election which are vigorously wooing them.
Since the Veterans of Foreign Wars already formally opposes
the Court, it is especially urgent that the Legion not make
hostility to the ICC an issue in its relations with the two
major campaigns. For the elections and later, it is important
also that the Legion stop misinforming its members or at least
present them with the other side. A large number of letters
sent immediately from Legionnaires only would help
critically on both objectives.
The latest article is good for rebuttal letters because it
makes many direct statements which are flat-out wrong and
show real ignorance or malice. Replies can therefore discredit
the article by simply and briefly destroying those statements
with the facts without any need for argument. A template
letter which does this is attached. Writers should please
feel free to use it as is. The identification and contact
information at the end of the letter is important because
VetVoice asks for most of it and it will show that similar
letters are nonetheless from genuine individual Legionnaires.
If writers would like to customize letters, suggestions
for that are also attached.
Individual and sign-on letters are both very welcome. Please
scour your networks for willing Legionnaires. It would be
especially powerful if all or the majority of the members
of a Legion post signed on. If you possibly can, please have
letters emailed for speed to magazine@legion.org.
Speed is essential since it takes at least two months for
letters to be published. Because attachments are easy to ignore,
it would be best to make the letter the text of the message.
We would be very grateful to know how many letters you were
able to get and when they were sent.
With many thanks,
John Washburn
AMICC Convener
Legion ICC Resolution Campaign
We are seeking to identify Legion Departments (55 in all
including one in each state, DC, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico,
and the Philippines) that would be willing to sponsor a Legion
resolution calling on the US to work with the ICC to:
- Assist any American servicemember that becomes involved
with the Court's activities,
- Promote the rights of servicemembers in any ICC case involving
POWs, and
- Cooperate with the Court in prosecuting foreign nationals
accused of the kinds of atrocities that lead to wars.
Such a resolution would bring the Legion's support to establishing
closer relations between the United States and the Court without
directly confronting the Legion's refusal to endorse the ICC.
Put another way, it would allow the Legion to pursue its interests
in the ICC pragmatically without abandoning the principles
the Legion believes require it to reject the concept of the
Court. All three of the main points suggested for the resolution
are permitted by the American Servicemembers' Protection Act
and the last one is specifically authorized by the Dodd amendment
to the ASPA.
Since the Legion follows a "bottom-up" approach in adopting
policy statements, we are encouraging ICC supporters, including
AMICC alliances, to confer with local Legionnaires about how
best to get the Department in their state to sponsor such
a resolution.
As the year ends we are very grateful for your hard and creative
work for the ICC, for our chance to support you in it, and
for the satisfaction we have all shared in this extraordinary
and compelling cause during this amazing year. We hope these
feelings are evident in the following year-end report covering
2003 and looking ahead.
2003 and the Court
This was
of course an amazing and marvelous year for the Court. You
all know the sequence of extraordinary events leading to the
full establishment of the Court including the swearing in
of the judges on March 10 at which John was proud to represent
AMICC, the selection and confirmation of the Registrar and
Prosecutor, and the approval of the Court's full formal budget
of euros 53,071,846 for 2004. The budget created the full
structure and organization of the Court and largely set its
institutional personality and the conditions for its organizational
culture. The Prosecutor has announced that the Congo will
be the first situation he will address. The creativity and
energy released by these accomplishments and by the skills
and high qualities of the Court's senior officials are evident
on the Court's website, www.icc-cpi.int.
We and our international colleagues have concluded from this
very strong beginning that although the U.S. campaign against
the Court may considerably hamper its early operations, it
will NOT stop them or the ICC. Nonetheless, the campaign is
dangerous for the Court and we must intensify our work against
it.
AMICC in 2003
We salute the
launch of new and very promising alliances in Maine, New Mexico,
and Connecticut. We hail the Southern California Alliance's
success in obtaining a strong pro-ICC resolution from the
Los Angeles City Council. The World Federalist Association's
imaginative campaign of education about the ICC through
contributions to its Victims Trust Fund has been a great
and exciting success. The USA for ICC web site of the Campaign
for UN Reform has been refined into an indispensable and creative
instrument for grass roots support and advocacy for the ICC.
In an important development, the American Bar Association,
the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the
members of the Faith and Ethics Caucus have developed direct
contacts with the ICC, thus serving professional purposes,
drawing their US members closer to the Court, and bearing
witness internationally of American popular support for the
Court. The United Nations Association completed a 15-minute
video on the ICC which can be ordered from them or us
for $5.
AMICC in 2004 and Beyond
AMICC is
good to go at its present level of activity until 2006, thanks
to a grant received this summer. However, the Steering Committee
agreed that we must do much more.
Concerning our mandate and work, the Steering Committee has
advised us to retain for now our existing goals of US full
cooperation and support for the Court followed by the earliest
possible American ratification of the Rome Statute. These
may have to be revisited depending on the results of the presidential
election and subsequent events. If any changes seem necessary
then, the full membership of AMICC will decide on them.
Starting in 2004, we will try to provide the much more regular
and personal contact with alliances that we have found these
volunteer groups require. We also must take much more initiative
in working with national members on their programs. More travel
money will make it possible for alliance leaders, task forces
and the Advisory Council to meet, permit us to go to them
more often, and enable occasional support for member programs.
Early 2004 will be a busy period. Among highlights, we will
be stepping up our recruitment of new members and in particular
hope to complete the memberships of anti-torture organizations
and Native American groups. In January, John and Anne will
participate in Citizens for Global Solutions workshops on nationwide advocacy for the ICC. John will
go to Montreal to assist in the renewal of the International
Criminal Bar Association which will represent defense counsel
at the ICC and has among its leaders representatives from
US bar associations. Since Congress will be in recess most
of January we will be urging and supporting local alliances
to arrange calls on local senators and congress. In February
he will spend a week in San Antonio organizing a local alliance
there. Meanwhile Anne will be continuing her outreach to presidential
candidates. She will also be directing intern research on,
among others, constitutional issues about the ICC and the
legal back ground of the BIAs.
United States Politics and the ICC
All Democratic presidential primary candidates except
Kerry and Sharpton now have favorable positions on the ICC.
The substance of these ranges from "positive engagement" to
immediate ratification of the Rome Statute. The Steering Committee
approved AMICC's continuing work with candidates on the ICC
as they refine their international affairs policies.
In November there was the first visible debate inside the
Administration on the political and diplomatic cost of the
campaign for bilateral immunity agreements (BIAs). The
cost counters wanted the President to preempt with his own
waivers a bill approved in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
exempting from all assistance reduction six countries about
to enter NATO and which had refused BIAs. The hardliners insisted
that there should be an absolute ban on exemptions beyond
those granted in The American Servicemembers Protection Act.
The cost counters won a tiny victory with presidential waivers
covering only funds to prepare the countries for NATO or enabling
them to make contributions to the coalition forces in Afghanistan
and Iraq. Nonetheless, there is now a very small breach in
the wall against waivers which we will seek to exploit for
countries which enjoy similar high favor in Congress. In so
doing, we can constantly force attention on the cost of the
BIA campaign to other American national interests. This concern
about the cost to national interests is important and useful
because it does not depend on support for the ICC.
Congress is certain to be heavily conservative for the foreseeable
future. Legislative bans against funds for U.S. cooperation
with the Court must be removed, expansion of the American
Servicemembers Protection Act must be stopped and its scope
progressively reduced until it is eliminated. We must intensify
our Washington education, promotion and information in Congress
through our partner organization, the Washington Working Group
on the ICC. (Our profound thanks go to the World Federalist
Association for its steadfast and vigorous support of the
Working Group). It is particularly important that we thoroughly
counter the Administration's constant misrepresentation of
the ICC in Congress as well as nationally and world-wide.
However, those efforts can be effective only if federal legislators
have heard consistently at home in person from groups of influential
and well-informed constituents. This is key work for the alliances
and our other friends across the country.
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