A letter to Secretary of Defense William Cohen (Human Rights Watch, 10-4-1998)

(04/10/98) --

April 10, 1998

Secretary of Defense
William Cohen
The Pentagon

Dear Secretary Cohen:

I am writing to express Human Rights Watch's profound concern about the Department of Defense's recent lobbying efforts regarding the proposed International Criminal Court.

The establishment of an effective and independent International Criminal Court will qualitatively strengthen international human rights and humanitarian law. An ICC with sufficienct authority will help to limit the sense of impunity that frequently fuels genocide, crimes against humanity and serious violations of the laws and customs of war. We believe that an effective ICC will be a deterrent to the commission of such crimes in the twenty-first century. This view is shared by more than fifty governments from around the world that have partictipated in the negotiations for the founding conference in Rome this June and July. President Clinton also expressed his strong support of an International Criminal Court during his recent visit to Rwanda.

At the same time, we are aware that United States defense officials have held meetings in Washington with military attaches from foreign embassies to discuss the ICC. We understand that similar discussions have taken place in Europe. We are deeply concerned that the U.S., fearing that its peacekeepers could one day be targets of frivolous or politically motivated ICC actions, is appealing to the worst instincts of some of the worst abusers of human rights. These military-to-military discussions, which we understand to include a broad range of militaries, may motivate potentially appropriate defendants of an ICC to try to weaken the very court being created to hold them to account.

We agree with the Department of Defense that the Court should not be misused as a vehicle to advance a political agenda against U.S. military personnel. However, we believe that the Draft Statute contains sufficient safeguards to filter out frivolous or otherwise inapprorpiate cases. To appeal to a broad range of militaries, some of whom have engaged in criminal acts themselves, to "take an active interest in the negotiations regarding an international criminal court," as the document being circulated by the Defense Department does, threatens to impede an effective international tribunal by encouraging inappropriate constraints on its action. We urge you to cease attempting to bring such pressure on other countries through their militaries.

Sincerely,
Kenneth Roth
Executive Director