| PRESS RELEASE ON THE UNITED STATES/BOTSWANA ICC AGREEMENT 2
MOGAE SHOULD BE OPEN ABOUT THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF U.S.-BOTSWANA AGREEMENT
DITSHWANELO - The Botswana Centre for Human Rights repeats its call for President Festus Mogae to brief parliament about the bilateral treaty between Botswana and the United States exempting U.S. citizens and U.S. government employees from prosecution before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Two days before U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to Botswana last Thursday, the Botswana Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it had signed the agreement. It requires the Government of Botswana to obtain U.S. permission before releasing to the ICC U.S.-affiliated suspects charged with war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. The citizens of Botswana have the right to know how such an agreement weakens international justice.
The ICC continues the work of two international tribunals which were established in the 1990's to investigate war crimes in Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina. International law experts now agree that these two tribunals have succeeded at four of their most important goals, namely: (1) to deter future violations of international criminal law; (2) to break the endless cycle of ethnic violence and pave the way for reconciliation and peace; (3) to establish the historical record of atrocities before the guilty could reinvent the truth; (4) to bring the guilty to justice. DITSHWANELO applauds the progress these tribunals have made toward raising the standards for human rights and justice around the world.
Yet, there are limitations to these temporary war crimes tribunals. First, they must be established by the United Nations Security Council, which will only act if all five permanent members agree. The five permanent members are the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China. Because of conflicts between these powers, no tribunals were conducted during the 45 years between the end of World War II and the mid-1990's. Second, it is expensive to establish a tribunal every time a new atrocity is being investigated, and future financial support for them is uncertain. Therefore, DITSHWANELO supports the establishment of a permanent criminal court with the power to prosecute both rich and poor. By signing the Rome Statute, which created the ICC, Botswana also demonstrated its support for this court.
DITSHWANELO believes that the agreement signed between Botswana and United States dangerously undermines the commitments which Botswana made by joining the ICC. According to the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), Botswana "will breach Articles 27, 86, 87, 89, and 90 of the [Rome] Statute, which require states to cooperate with and provide assistance to the Court. [Botswana] will also violate Article 18 of the Vienna Convention … which obliges them to refrain from acts that would defeat the object and purpose of the Statute."
DITSHWANELO repeats its call for President Mogae to brief parliament on the following questions:
- Which human and financial costs would Botswana have incurred if it hadn't signed the agreement? Are there any concrete benefits to signing, and, if so, are these benefits assured?
- Does the agreement apply equally to both countries? Botswana has exempted U.S. citizens and government employees from ICC prosecution. Does the U.S. also exempt Batswana from such prosecution?
In line with the Vision 2016 pillar of an Open and Democratic Society, we urge the Government to provide the public with information on the process and reasoning which lead to the decision to sign the agreement. This will allow for informed debate on what has now become a highly controversial issue.
17 July 2003
Gaborone
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