What did make the headlines some two weeks later was the historically significant decision of George W. Bush to effectively "un-sign" that document, angering much of the international community. This unprecedented action left legal scholars scratching their collective heads wondering if "un-signing" an international treaty is even possible.

What is this new international court?
What role did faith-based groups play in its creation?
What does the PC(USA) say about the court?
What can churches and individuals do?
Where is there more information on the ICC?

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a permanent international court designed to try individuals accused of the most heinous crimes in international law: genocide, crimes of war, and crimes against humanity. The Court will only try those cases that the countries involved are either unwilling or unable to try on their own. This is the first court set up by the international community with universal jurisdiction to try those accused of grievous human rights abuses.

Precedence for this court can be traced back to the Nuremburg War Crime Trials held to prosecute Nazi leaders after the Second World War. Since that time, International War Tribunals have been set up to prosecute those accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, most recently in the cases of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The idea for an international court designed to try such cases is not new; draft statutes for the court can be dated back to 1951. Following the international outcry over the genocide occurring in the name of "ethnic cleansing" in the former Yugoslavia, new energy was dedicated to the creation of a permanent international court. In the summer of 1998, the General Assembly of the United Nations convened a meeting in Rome "to finalize and adopt a convention on the establishment of an international criminal court", a document that is known as the Rome Convention. At that meeting, 120 countries voted to approve the Convention and governments, including the United States, agreed that once 60 countries ratified the document (a process that in most countries includes gaining approval of the national legislature), the Court would come into affect.

Now that the court has garnered the necessary support to bring it into existence, what will this actually mean? The International Criminal Court will have jurisdiction to prosecute any crime that is declared genocide, a war crime, or a crime against humanity and is committed by a citizen of a country that has ratified the treaty or within the territory of a country that has ratified the treaty. The court does not have retroactive jurisprudence, which means that it cannot try cases involving crimes that occurred before the court comes into existence on July 1, 2002. There will be a panel of 18 judges, elected by those countries that have ratified the treaty.

The International Criminal Court is also breaking new ground in terms of recognizing war crimes committed specifically against women. For the first time in international law, rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, and other gender-based and sexual violence are recognized as war crimes.

The United States stands alone among its traditional allies by not supporting the ICC. Turkey and the United States are the only NATO countries that have not ratified the Rome Statute. Not only that, the United States is now the only country to ever attempt to "un-sign" an international treaty.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is a part of an organization called the Faith-Based Caucus for an International Criminal Court. This group, made up of religious organizations active in the United Nations and in the international arena, works to support the International Criminal Court by increasing public understanding about the Court's goals and aims. Understanding the important role that faith-based organizations play in spreading information at the grass-roots level, the Faith-Based Caucus for an International Criminal Court aims to spread information about the Court to a wider audience. Click here for more information about the Faith-Based Caucus and a list of member organizations.

The 211th General Assembly of the PC(USA) passed "Resolution on the International Criminal Court" (25.329-25.337). Originating from the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy, this policy expresses its support for the ICC as well as urges the US government to fully participate in the Court. In the rationale for this resolution, it is noted that "the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has called for the strengthening of international institutions required for the cause of peace and justice, the development of nonviolent instruments for dealing with international issues, including calls for the establishment of international judicial mechanisms."

The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) recommends that the 211th General Assembly (1999) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) do the following:

1. Commend the United Nations and the International Conference in Rome for the drafting and adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

2. Affirm the need for international judicial mechanisms for the administration of justice capable of addressing major categories of crime with consistent application for all countries.

3. Call upon all governments to be diligent in the conduct of affairs, preventing those acts that might constitute offenses of international character as defined by law, holding their own citizens accountable.

4. Call upon the United States administration to provide international leadership by signing the treaty, submitting it to the Senate for ratification, and supporting the creation of the International Criminal Court.

5. Call upon the United States Senate for prompt consideration and ratification of the treaty.

6. Encourage Presbyterians to learn about the International Criminal Court and the necessity for its creation, and to support the participation of the United States in the International Criminal Court.

7. Request that the appropriate offices of the General Assembly make available information for study.

8. Direct the Stated Clerk to communicate this resolution and its background information to the secretary general of the United Nations, the president of the United States, the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, and every member of the United States Senate.

Learn more!
The first thing people that want to get involved can do is to educate themselves. There are numerous resources available online or contact our office.

Educate others
Once you have learned more about the Court, don't keep all that knowledge to yourself. Lead a group discussion on the Court, brief your session, or just have a one-on-one conversation with someone who doesn't know much about the ICC.

Talk to your representatives
Let those who represent you in the government know how you feel about the International Criminal Court. Encourage the president and secretary of state to back the formation of the Court. Let your senators and representatives know that you don't support the "Storm the Hague" Act, which would allow the United States Military to break into the Hague should any of its citizens be held for committing genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity. Click here to find out who your congressional representatives are and how to contact them.

Check out the following Web sites for more information:

Human Rights Watch
United Nations
USA for the ICC
Coalition for the ICC
Women's Caucus for Gender Justice

Or send your specific questions to the Presbyterian United Nations Office.