October 23, 2009 | United States Congress, Washington DC, United States

On Friday, October 23, 2009 Mr. Stephen Rapp, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues briefed the Members of the Board and International Council of PGA on current US policy on accountability, international justice and the International Criminal Court.

In his presentation, Ambassador Rapp underscored the ongoing committment of the United States Government to accountability for serious international crimes, observing the important role it had played in supporting the Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

In connection with the International Criminal Court, Ambassador Rapp signalled that, commencing in the final years of the Bush Administration and now being carried over into the current Administration, the United States was seeking to engage with the ICC in a more constructive fashion; where countries wished to become party to the ICC, the US would not seek to interfere with this process.

Insofar as the US's own position on the Court was concerned, Ambassador Rapp signalled that US policy was currently undergoing a review process within the Obama Administration and that the outcome of review process might be expected shortly. While it was perhaps unlikely to result in the US formally declaring an intention to become a party to the ICC, nonetheless the possibility existed that greater cooperation by the Administration with the Court might be an outcome of these deliberations. [On Monday, October 26, 2009 the US Ambassador in Kenya indicated that the US Administration would be willing to provide informational assistance on suspects to the ICC in connection with its ongoing investigation into the crimes committed in that country during post-electoral violence in 2007].

Ambassador Rapp also emphasized the committment of the US to ensure that justice and accountability would be sought domestically for any crimes committed by US personnel of the kind that are envisaged in the Rome Statute, recalling that the principle of complimentarity, as enshrined in the Rome Statute, specifically made clear that domestic prosecutions were to be the preferred course of action. In response, PGA Board and International Council Members Bassey Ewa-Henshaw, Ibrahim Sorie, David Musila, Stephen Tashobya, Ruth Wijdenbosch and Raynell Andreychuk all indicated a hope that the US would find its way, not before too long, to joining the club of 110 nations that have already become party to the Rome Statute of the ICC.

A brief question and answer session followed with members of the Board and International Council of PGA.

PGA is most grateful to Ambassador Rapp for making himself available and providing an informative briefing to its members. During the course of its Second Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians (CAP) on the ICC and the Rule of Law in New York in 2003, PGA was similarly pleased to receive a briefing from US Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield.

For further information, please contact Peter Barcroft, Senior Program Officer, International Law & Human Rights Program, PGA at peter.barcroft@pgaction.org