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A page in the history of humankind is being turned
UNITED NATIONS, New York -- The world's first permanent criminal court for the prosecution of dictators and war criminals became a reality Thursday, more than half a century after such a tribunal was first proposed in the ruins of World War II. "The long-held dream of the International Criminal Court will now be realized," said Secretary-General Kofi Annan. "Impunity has been dealt a decisive blow. " The court closes a gap in international law by holding individuals, not nations or armies, responsible for the most horrific crimes, Mr. Annan said, speaking at a news conference in Rome, where more than 100 countries met in 1998 to propose the establishment of the tribunal. The court is expected to take shape in The Hague over the next year, beside the International Court of Justice, which rules in disputes between countries. The establishment of the International Criminal Court, which assumes jurisdiction over genocide and war crimes cases, beginning July 1, has been broadly welcomed by most democratic nations, American lawyers' associations and human rights groups. But it has an implacable foe in President George W. Bush's administration, which appears to be on the verge of, not only renouncing the tribunal, but also removing the signature of the United States from the treaty that created it. The treaty, White House officials say, will never be sent to the Senate for ratification. Congress has already passed a law forbidding Americans at all levels of government from cooperating with it. Michael Posner, executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, said in an interview that rescinding the signature from the treaty would be a terrible precedent. "No American president in 200 years has unsigned a treaty, as far as we can find," he said. "It would also send a signal to other governments around the world that treaties they signed are unsignable." Arms control advocates fear that the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which bars nuclear explosions, might be next in line.

posted by West 5:06 PM