US Drops Anti-ICC Law

On December 7, the US Senate passed Senator Jesse Helms's anti-International Criminal Court proposal, the "American Servicemembers Protection Act" (ASPA), as an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Act. The ASPA attempted to undermine the establishment of a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC), which will prosecute individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes when national courts are unable to do so.