international criminal court

In spite of U.S. resistance and refusal to sign the 1998 Rome Treaty, establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC), the court is well under way. The first 18 judges have been selected, and the first Chief Prosecutor was elected and began work in June 2003. Since then, the Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo of Argentina, has been assembling a team able to prosecute crimes against humanity and genocide, and his team is about to get its first case.
According to a recent announcement from the Chief Prosecutor, , the ICC will begin investigation into the crimes of a group of northern Ugandan rebels. The group, known as the Lord’s Resistance Army, has been responsible for terrorizing northern Uganda since Yoweri Museveni seized power in Kampala in 1986. Reports of the group's activities include summary execution, rape, child sexual abuse, recruitment of child soldiers, torture and mutilation, and looting and destruction of civilian property. Reports from the Prosecutor's office indicate that as many as 20,000 children have already fallen victim to the group.

The United States was one of only seven nations, along with China, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Qatar, and Yemen, to vote against the creation of the ICC, citing potential abuse of the court's jurisdiction to conduct politically motivated investigations and prosecutions against American citizens (mainly military and political personnel). However, even with the current administration's hostility toward the court (particularly in their efforts to secure bilateral agreements requesting states not to surrender American nationals to the ICC), the ICC has begun to enjoy success. The court boasts a judiciary full of talent from a broad spectrum of nations, and the referral of the first case from the Ugandan president is a huge step for the court and international human rights. World Federalists should pay particular attention to how the Chief Prosecutor, and the ICC as a whole, handle their first case. The implications for international human rights law will be far reaching.