Rwanda
In its new $25 million "justice initiative" for Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern Congo, the U.S. hopes to train judicial and police officials. What's more, the Clinton administration has donated about $30 million and provided strong political support for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which has been conducting trials for the genocide since 1996. Hillary Clinton visited this war crimes tribunal in Arusha last year, and has also publicly praised its work.
Question: If Clinton thinks war crimes tribunals are so beneficial, then why is the U.S. trying to dilute the powers of a permanent International Criminal Court now under negotiation? At a U.N. conference right now, the American delegation is trying to emasculate the prosecutor and give a veto over the court's docket to various national governments. These provisions would have made the work of the Rwandan tribunal much, much harder, if not impossible.
[ Human Rights Watch Home Page ]
[Clinton Africa Trip, March 1998]