BOTSWANA SHOULD NOT HAVE EXEMPTED U.S. CITIZENS FROM WAR CRIMES PROSECUTION

DITSHWANELO – The Botswana Centre for Human Rights joins the Government of Botswana in welcoming U.S. President George W. Bush to Botswana. However, we are disappointed at our government’s decision to exempt U.S. citizens from indictment for war crimes under the new International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC was established in 2002 to prosecute citizens of any nation who commit war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide. It is modelled after the war crimes tribunals in Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which were set up after ethnic factions raped, tortured, and killed members of rival ethnic groups. The tribunals have held the leaders of these factions accountable for their crimes, and have helped the survivors come to terms with their losses. With the ICC in place, future perpetrators of mass murder and torture would be on notice that they, too, will face prosecution for their crimes. War crimes, genocide, and/or crimes against humanity have plagued every region of the world, and it will require a permanent worldwide commitment to end them.

The Rome Statute, which is the treaty creating the ICC, was drafted with the participation of the United States and signed by then-U.S. President Bill Clinton. Botswana supported a strong ICC, one which would treat citizens of large and small nations equally. Botswana is a member of the ICC.

However, when the administration of President George W. Bush took power, it nullified the United States’ membership to the Court and aggressively pushed other nations to sign bilateral treaties, which would exempt U.S. citizens found within their borders from ICC prosecution. Nations not agreeing to these treaties would have their military aid terminated. Some nations, including South Africa, who have not signed such an agreement have seen their aid cut by millions of U.S. dollars. Botswana announced yesterday that it had agreed to the U.S. demands and had signed an agreement to exempt U.S. citizens from ICC prosecution unless given consent by the U.S. government.

As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted in its press release on the agreement, Botswana and the United States enjoy “excellent relations,” which have brought many “tangible benefits to the people of Botswana.” However, any relationship between the two countries must be based on mutual respect of sovereignty, rule of law, and accountability of each country’s government to its own citizens. In this case, the U.S. had already said that if Botswana did not sign such a treaty by January 2004, it would cut all U.S.-Botswana military aid. We fear that the U.S. President may have also tied money for important humanitarian programs, especially HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, to his political goals, such as undermining the ICC.

DITSHWANELO urges President Mogae to be mindful of Vision 2016’s commitment to a transparent government and an informed citizenry, and to brief parliament on the substance of his bilateral agreement with the United States concerning the ICC. Further, we hope the Government of Botswana will reconsider this bilateral treaty when it is due for its annual review.

9 July 2003
Gaborone