The U.S. Should Sign and Ratify the Rome Statute; Global Peace & Accountability Depend On It!
The Rome Statute was created to combat global political violence and assist in holding violent political actors accountable; the United States should assert its support for the statute in the interests of international peace, justice, and truth.
By: Ian L. Courts¹
In 1998, The Rome Statute was created to combat global terrorism, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocides committed by political actors — both individuals and nation-states. Moreover, the statute created the International Criminal Court to oversee the investigation, prosecution, trial, and enforcement of international criminal law. The United States was integral to the formation, creation, and drafting of the Rome Statute despite our initial hesitance about the court’s function, importance and need. However, our commitment to global peace and criminal justice, specifically regarding the Rome Statute, has not always been steady. The Biden-Harris administration has the opportunity to embark on a new path of cooperation, thus turning a new page in the fight for international peace and justice.
Changes in Administrations & Shiftings in Commitment
President Bill Clinton failed to submit the Rome Statute treaty to the United States Senate, which the Republican Party then controlled, and thus the Rome Statute treaty was never ratified. Ratification is important because that is the only way international treaties become binding federal law on our country and governmental actors and agencies. Furthermore, under the President George Bush Administration, the United States’s posturing toward the International Criminal Court and United Nations waxed cold due to actions relating to the invasion of Iraq. Under President Barack Obama, our relationship with the Rome Statute began to thaw, and we once again became observers of the Statute though still not ratifiers. Conversely, under the Trump Administration, we halted all interactions with the International Criminal Court, revoked our signature, and even revoked the visa of the former International Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda. Yes, as you can see, our commitment to the provisions of the Rome Statute has been lukewarm at best to acrimonious at worst. However, President Biden has the opportunity to forge a new path and fully embrace the provisions of the Rome Statute and turn a new page in global peace and criminal justice by signing and submitting to the US Senate for ratification of the statute.
The Importance of the Rome Statute & the existence of the International Criminal Court
The Rome Statute is a significant acknowledgment by the international community, of our shared responsibility, as humanity, in the atrocities that have been committed in the name of religion, racism, and political ideology. The I.C.C. is the court of last resort — by statute and de facto for many countries worldwide. In articles 13 and 14 of the Rome Statute, the ICC has the authority to hear cases brought to it by referral from ratifying-nations, by request from the Security Council to the International Prosecutor, or sua spontae by the I.C.C.’s determinations that a violation of Section 5 “outlining war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, etc.” has been committed by either a ratifying-state or another country or individual committing Section 5 violations on the soil of a ratifying state. The I.C.C. is divided into three sections Pre-trial, Trial, and Appeals, each tasked with administering the Rome Statute’s mandate and commission. Section 5 of the Rome Statute provisions allow the Court and even national courts to prosecute and enforce international law concerning war crimes, genocides, and crimes against humanity. Section 5 of the Rome Statute essentially provides the statutory authority to the I.C.C., and domestic courts worldwide, to combat transnational and international crime such as cybercrime, human trafficking, ethnic cleansing, mercenaries, etc. A comprehensive body of jurisprudence concerning international criminal law, which is one of the purposes of the I.C.C., would aid in combating international crime and global political violence. The International Criminal Court is important because of its mandate and its opportunity to contribute to global accountability and peace.
The Challenges of the ICC
Impartiality
One of the biggest issues facing the I.C.C. is maintaining the appearance of impartiality. In the I.C.C.’s 20+ years of existence, the Court has only achieved 4 convictions — Lubanga, Katanga, Bemba, and al-Mahdi — all from African countries, which has led many African nations to challenge the intent behind I.C.C. prosecutions. Former International Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has tried to buck this appearance of impartiality by launching investigations into the United States and the government of Afghanistan alleged Section 5 violations in Afghanistan. The announcement of an I.C.C. investigation prompted a strong rebuke and retaliation from former President Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo. For the I.C.C. to be effective, the Court will have to acknowledge the appearance of targeting African political actors over other ethnic and governmental actors while also seriously investigating actions of Western countries, not only the United States.
Transparency
According to a 2019 Open Society Justice Initiative report, the ICC, specifically the International Prosecutor’s office, needs to increase its transparency and visibility to its stakeholders — mainly its ratifying states. To increase the legitimacy of the I.C.C. in the eyes of the global community, the Court must be transparent in its internal data on its investigations and prosecutions and its enforcement methods. In response to this report, the International Prosecutor’s Office has committed to increasing transparency in its operations.
Accountability
The I.C.C.’s jurisdiction is limited; furthermore, the enforcement of its judgments is predicated on the parties' acceptance and submission to the terms of the judgment. Global accountability has historically been difficult for international organizations such as the United Nations and International Criminal Court. Global accountability for political actors is largely dependant on the volitional decision of powerful people to submit to consequences or the cooperation of more powerful people to force lesser powers to accountability. A global system that relies solely on global cooperation will continue to produce haphazard or piecemeal justice measures. The I.C.C. absent an independent enforcement body, or the cooperation of the United States will continue to be impeded in holding malicious global actors accountable.
The U.S. and I.C.C. & the Opportunity for Cooperation and Agreement
Despite the U.S. and the I.C.C.’s complicated relationship history, there is a real opportunity under the Biden-Harris Administration and subsequent presidential administrations to foster genuine cooperating with the Court while holding each other accountable. The Rome Statute's mandate fits with the United States’s belief in the rule of law and promotion of justice. By signing and ratifying the Rome Statute, the U.S. would signal to the world that it is committed to truth and accountability. Further, the U.S.’s ratification of the Rome Statute would demonstrate our hopes to remedy both intentional and unintentional harm created by our global political actions. Additionally, the ratification of the Rome Statute would further open our federal courts, notably the Supreme Court of the United States, to weigh in and develop international jurisprudence on war crimes, genocides, crimes against humanity, etc. Furthermore, it would put other nation-states on notice that the United States and the International Criminal Court are partnered together to enforce international criminal law and justice, thus hopefully ushering in a new age of global accountability.
Our world has become more interconnected; moreover, when political violence occurs in one nation today, its effects reverberate across the globe. We can look at the global Black Lives Matter demonstrations last year to prove that our global community is solidifying around truth, equity, and justice. The mandate of the Rome Statute and the I.C.C. is critical to transforming the “shared feelings” among our global communities into genuine accountability. Moreover, cooperation between the United States and the I.C.C. will strengthen the enforcement of our global values and the combating of international political crimes. The Biden-Harris has the opportunity to engender a stronger relationship between the International Criminal Court and the United States, thus bolstering the Court’s mandate and reaffirming the U.S.’s commitment to the rule of law.
[1]: About the Author: Ian Courts is a young millennial attorney with expertise and a passion in American and international law and politics. Ian received his BA in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2017, in 2020 he received his J.D. from North Carolina Central University School of Law, and in 2022 Ian received his LLM in International Criminal Law and Justice from the University of New Hampshire School of Law. Ian lives in Philadelphia where he is an appellate lawyer and the proud fur-dad of two American Cocker Spaniels.
