WASHINGTON (voa) – The United States has informed the United Nations Monday that is it renouncing the treaty establishing an international criminal court because it could be used to lodge politically-motivated charges against Americans overseas. The decision means the United States will not recognize the courts jurisdiction nor submit to its orders.
The decision prompted immediate criticism from many U.S. allies, including the European Union.
Canada, one of the major forces behind the creation of the court, expressed deep disappointment, but said the U.S. withdrawal did not deal a death blow to the court.
The European Union, already displeased by the U.S. pull-out of the Kyoto climate accord, also expressed regret.
Human Rights Watch says the decision puts the United States on the wrong side of history.
More than 60 nations, including most U.S. allies, have already ratified the treaty, and the international criminal court or ICC is due to begin operations next year in The Hague. The ICC would serve as a permanent war-crimes tribunal that would try defendants indicted for war crimes, genocide and other crimes against humanity.
Former President Clinton signed the pact in 1998, but the U.S. Senate was never asked to ratify it.
