The United States' Rejection of the International Criminal Court: A Strategic Error

Abstract

Throughout the Twentieth Century the international community struggled to find a method of ensuring that those responsible for brutal war crimes and atrocities were held responsible for their actions. These efforts coalesced into the Rome Conference where the international community sought to fashion an institution that would have the authority to accomplish these tasks but not trample individual sovereignty. The United States was a major part of these negotiations but did not accept the result. The Bush administration and Congress have pursued a markedly hostile attitude towards the International Criminal Court (ICC). Failure to accept the Rome Statute constitutes a strategic mistake in the use of the informational and diplomatic elements of power. Given that there is little or no risk that the ICC would impact U.S. military or humanitarian operations the United States should sign and ratify the Rome Statute.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 09, 2008
Accession Number
ADA487112

Entities

People

  • Rickey Watson

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Congress
  • Criminals
  • Education
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Foreign Aid
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • Human Rights
  • Humanities
  • International Law
  • International Relations
  • Law
  • National Security
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.