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National polls since the late 1990s consistently demonstrate that over half of respondents, and more frequently in a large majority, want the United States to participate in the International Criminal Court and ratify its statute — when they know about the Court. More recent polls have shown the apparent disconnect between American public opinion and Congressional opinion on the Court, and strong support for Darfur addressing impunity at the ICC.
A May 2006 Americans on International Courts and Their Jurisdiction Over the US poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org and Knowledge Networks indicated that 74% of Americans support US participation in the ICC as it begins its first trial proceedings. A poll conducted in June and July 2006 by Knowledge Networks, published by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in its 2006 Public Opinion Study on the United States and the Rise of China and India, similarly found that 71% of Americans support US participation in the Court.
A May 2005 poll by the International Crisis Group and Zogby International found that 91% of Americans feel that the US should cooperate with the International Criminal Court to help bring to justice those responsible for the atrocities in Darfur. The results clearly indicate a strong national consensus that those committing the Darfur atrocities must be brought to justice at the ICC, and the US should help to ensure that occurs. In addition, the poll indicates that 80% of Americans agree that the continued attacks on civilian populations in Darfur by militias supported by the government of Sudan can be described as "genocide" or "crimes against humanity," and 84% of respondents stated that the US should not tolerate an extremist government engaged in wholesale attacks on its own civilians.
A February 2005 poll by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations and the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland showed that a majority of Americans (60%) favored referring Darfur atrocities to the ICC rather than using a temporary tribunal (29%), as proposed by the Bush administration. Support for referral to the ICC was higher among Democrats (68%), but a majority of Republicans (56%) also favored it. Even when respondents in a sample were provided Bush administration arguments against the US participation in the ICC, they were not significantly less likely to favor referral of the Darfur cases to the ICC.
A October 2004 poll by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations showed a 76% majority of the public favored US participation in the ICC, with a 54% majority believing that most of the Congress favored the Court as well. Even more striking was the fact that 68% of administration officials also thought the US should participate. However, Congressional staffers differed, with only 43% supporting US participation. Preferences varied by party, with 74% of Democratic staffers favoring participation, while 15% of Republican staffers supporting US participation.
The poll further found that among administration officials, only 32% estimated that a majority of the public favored the ICC and only 17% estimated that this is a large majority. Fifteen percent of Congressional staffers estimated majority public support, with 18% of Democratic staffers correctly estimating the direction of general public opinion and only 9% of Republican staffers correctly identifying.
Another poll by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations in September 2004 shows strong American support for the ICC: 76% of the public and 70% of leaders favor American participation in the Court, to try individuals for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity if their own countries will not try them. Additionally, 82% of the public and 80% of leaders support putting international terrorists on trial at the ICC.
The new poll shows greater support for the Court than the Council's previous October 2002 poll (co-sponsored with the German Marshall Fund of the US) which found that 65% of the American public would support US participation in the ICC even after the fact that some people fear political prosecution of US soldiers is mentioned. Significantly, the poll also shows that "[t]he trial of suspected terrorists in an International Criminal Court is supported by an overwhelming 83%."
Another poll by Zogby International [commissioned by the Foreign Policy Association (FPA)] in September 2004 surveyed American attitudes towards a range of issues concerning the role of the US in the world. The poll found that just over half (51%) agree that the US should "ratify the creation of the International Criminal Court," up from 48% last year.
The 1999 Roper and 2000 Yankelovich polls are especially useful because, although from different organizations, they
used very similar paragraphs informing respondents about the
Court and the reasons for opposing and supporting it before
the questions were asked.
Unfortunately, the support these national polls show does
not have much influence on the way people vote. Turning this
support into the focused and aroused public opinion leading
to political action is the work of AMICC and the local alliances.
Another problem is that members of Congress and Senators say:
"Maybe people respond this way in national polls, but not
in my district/state." Thus local polls are essential for
local action. Paid polls are expensive, but other options
are a company or organization that is willing to insert an
ICC question in a poll it is already doing and college or
university social science or political science departments
that do polls as student exercises. Alliances should consider
including the 1999 Roper and 2000 Yankelovich questions in
their polls to provide continuity and compatibility, along
with additional, perhaps locally oriented, questions.
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The Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA), Americans on the Darfur Crisis and the International Criminal Court, February 2005 |
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The Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA), The Hall of Mirrors: Perceptions and Misperceptions in the Congressional Foreign Policy Process, October 1, 2004 |
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The Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, Global Views 2004: American Public Opinion and Foreign Policy, 2004 |
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Zogby International (Foreign Policy Association), Americans and the World Around Them:
A Nationwide Poll, 2004 |
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Fact
Sheet: US Public Opinion and the ICC (Washington Working
Group for the ICC, October 2003) |
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Chicago
Council on Foreign Relations/German Marshall Fund of the
US (CCRF/GMF) Worldviews 2002 Survey |
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Roper
Poll 2002 |
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Yankelovich
Poll 2000 |
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Roper
Poll 1999 |
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