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US Signs World Criminal Court Treaty
US President Bill Clinton authorized Sunday the United States to sign a treaty creating the world's first permanent international war crimes tribunal to bring to justice people accused of crimes against humanity.
Clinton said his action, taken with some reservations, builds on U.S. support for justice and individual accountability dating to American involvement in the Nuremberg tribunals that brought Nazi war criminals to justice after World War II.
He said that the treaty should not be submitted to the Senate for ratification until certain concerns are met.
"I believe that a properly constituted and structured International Criminal Court would make a profound contribution in deterring egregious human rights abuses worldwide...," Clinton said in a statement issued at the White House.
"In signing, however, we are not abandoning our concerns about significant flaws in the treaty," he said. "In particular, we are concerned that when the court comes into existence, it will not only exercise authority over personnel of states that have ratified the treaty, but also claim jurisdiction over personnel of states that have not.
David J. Scheffer, the U.S. Ambassador at large for war crimes issues, signed the treaty on behalf of the United States a few hours after Clinton authorized him to do so.
Sunday was the deadline for countries to sign the international criminal court treaty and transmit it to United Nations headquarters in New York.
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