Court Jesters

As America's reputation in the world dwindles to pathetic new lows, and with the United States seeking international support in Iraq and in the fight against terrorism, one might think this an inopportune moment to bait some of our closest foreign allies into unnecessary diplomatic rows. And yet, undeterred, Republican Representatives Tom DeLay and George Nethercutt teamed up on the House floor, and on July 15 they successfully pushed an amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that would accomplish just that.

The "Nethercutt Amendment" would withhold economic assistance to America's NATO partners, as well as to some major non-NATO allies such as Jordan, South Africa, and Japan, until these countries sign what are known as "bilateral immunity agreements" (BIAs) that exempt U.S. nationals and foreign contractors from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Based in The Hague, Netherlands, the ICC is the first permanent court capable of trying individuals accused of the most serious violations of international humanitarian and human-rights law, namely genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Fearful of the ICC's potential to encroach on U.S. sovereignty, the Bush administration and conservatives in Congress have tried to undermine the court ever since the treaty that created the court entered into force in the summer of 2002. The Nethercutt Amendment, however, may be their most aggressive attempt to limit the court. The bill would use the threat of withholding aid from the State Department's Economic Support Fund to blackmail a bevy of U.S. allies into granting Americans immunity from prosecution before the ICC. So far, 92 countries have concluded a BIA with the United States, but there are holdouts. Under the Nethercutt Amendment, these countries would have their economic assistance stripped bare.

So, for example, the $250 million Jordan is slated to receive in fiscal year 2005 to support a wide array of governance reforms – and to reward that country for its continuing cooperation on Iraqi reconstruction efforts – would be conditional upon Jordan's accession to a BIA. Jordan, however, is unlikely to sign such an agreement. It has been highly committed to the court since its inception, and Jordan's Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zed al-Hussein is president of the ICC's governing body, the Assembly of State Parties. Like many other countries that adhere to the ICC, Jordan considers these immunity agreements illegal under the obligations set forth in the Rome Statute that created the court. Furthermore, many ICC member states simply lack the political will to enter into a BIA with the United States. For example, many eastern European and Baltic countries see their future with the European Union. They refuse to sign a BIA so as to curry favor with the rest of Europe, which strongly supports the court.

According to Citizens for Global Solutions, a Washington-based nonprofit that closely monitors the ICC, the Nethercutt Amendment would also jeopardize regional initiatives to combat drug trafficking and international organized crime, as it would slice $8 million from a coordinated effort to reduce cocoa production and drug trafficking in Peru; $9 million from the State Department's "third border initiative," which helps Caribbean countries combat drugs, arms, and human trafficking; and $1 million used to help South Africa combat counterfeiting and financial crimes.

Insofar as the Nethercutt Amendment would force the United States to abandon some of its most strategic allies at this particularly vulnerable juncture in U.S. history, many foreign-policy heads have questioned its wisdom. As one prominent human-rights expert put it, "Is picking a gratuitous fight with our allies, at this moment, really worth it?"