A conference for the International Criminal Court, the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal, got underway in The Hague Monday. The meet will be dominated by preparations for war crimes trials for Congo and Uganda.
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Based in The Hague, the ICC became a legal reality in 2002, mandated to try genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed after the court was established, in cases where the accused's national state cannot or will not act. Human rights groups say this falls considerably short of the funds needed.
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The Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), an umbrella organization of some 2000 human rights organizations, is arguing that the proposed budget fails to provide adequately for the first two investigations, ensure the necessary protection of witnesses or allow victims to participate in the legal procedures.
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The Bush administration's unrelenting resistance to the ICC is based on the claim it interferes with global peacekeeping obligations.
To undermine its jurisdiction, the US has already signed bilateral agreements with a number of countries guaranteeing that US soldiers cannot be extradited to The Hague if they are prosecuted for genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.
