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* PRESS ADVISORY
*
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT TREATY
TO GET
REMAINING RATIFICATIONS
ON
THURSDAY, 11 APRIL, 2002
U.S.’s ISOLATIONIST OPPOSITION TO THE
COURT
SETS IT AGAINST A GLOBAL TIDE
New York
, April 2002 – On
Thursday, 11 April 2002
, the four remaining ratifications necessary to bring into force the treaty
creating the world’s first permanent international criminal court will be
finalized at a special ratification ceremony conducted by the UN Treaty
Office.
The countries that have thus far confirmed their ratifications on that date
include
Cambodia
,
Ireland
,
Jordan
and
Romania. At least seven others have indicated that they intend to take part in the
ratification event. Sixty ratifications are required to bring the Rome Statute
of the International Criminal Court into force, which will have been
accomplished less than four years after the treaty was adopted.
As
the International Criminal Court comes into existence, the Bush administration
is expected to announce its formal position regarding this historic
institution. Last year, President Bush signed into law two pieces of
legislation which prohibit any support or assistance to the future Court as
well as to the ongoing process toward its establishment. Ranking officials in
the administration have indicated that President Bush may ‘unsign’ the
treaty, something that has never been done before.
The
U.S.
hostility towards the Court stems from the fact that it will not be dependent
on the UN Security Council for cases that can come before it and from the fact
that the
U.S.
was not successful in achieving exemptions for
U.S.
nationals.
A
large presence of women’s groups and civil society will be present at the UN
at this historic moment for the work of the Ninth Session of the Preparatory
Commission for the ICC. Women’s groups will continue to be involved in the
establishment phase of the Court to ensure that the mainstreaming of gender
begun in the Rome Statute will be carried into the actual functioning of the
court.
The
following U.S.-based advocates are available for more background and information:
RHONDA
COPELON is a professor of law and director of the International Women’s
Human Rights Law Clinic (IWHR) at CUNY School of Law in
New York City
PAM
SPEES is Program Director of the Women’s Caucus for Gender Justice
VIVIAN STROMBERG, Executive Director and founding board member of MADRE, an international women's human rights
organization that works in partnership with women's community-based groups
worldwide to address issues of health, economic development and other human
rights.
Contact info: Reena Geevarghese, phone
(718) 626-2681,
Mobile
: (917) 957-5974.
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