[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S.J. Res. 93 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. J. RES. 93

 Calling for the President to support efforts by the United Nations to 
   conclude an international agreement to establish an international 
                            criminal court.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                May 11 (legislative day, April 19), 1993

 Mr. Specter introduced the following joint resolution; which was read 
        twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                            JOINT RESOLUTION


 
 Calling for the President to support efforts by the United Nations to 
   conclude an international agreement to establish an international 
                            criminal court.

    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) the preservation of international security and peace 
        rests on adherence to the rule of law and principles of justice 
        by the nations and peoples of the world;
            (2) international security and peace are threatened by 
        violations of international law by war crimes, genocide, 
        military aggression, terrorism, drug trafficking, and other 
        international crimes;
            (3) violations of international law by such international 
        acts have a severely detrimental effect on the United States, 
        putting Americans at risk and costing the Nation billions of 
        dollars;
            (4) the prosecution of individuals suspected of violating 
        international law is often impeded by domestic political and 
        legal obstacles imposed by the nations involved;
            (5) the International Military Tribunals established after 
        World War II to try suspected war criminals demonstrated that 
        fair and effective prosecution of war criminals could be 
        carried out in an international forum by nations acting in 
        concert under international law;
            (6) since its establishment in 1945 the United Nations has 
        sought to establish a permanent international criminal court to 
        try crimes committed in violation of international law;
            (7) there are many examples of international judicial 
        bodies successfully exercising legal authority over nations 
        that have voluntarily agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of 
        such tribunals;
            (8) in 1978 the American Bar Association adopted a 
        resolution urging the Department of State to open negotiations 
        for a convention to establish an international criminal court 
        with jurisdiction over international crimes of hijacking, 
        violence aboard aircraft, crimes against diplomats and 
        internationally protected persons, and murder and kidnapping;
            (9) in the Ninety-ninth Congress, in the Omnibus Diplomatic 
        Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986, it was expressed as the 
        sense of the Congress that the President should consider the 
        possibility of eventually establishing an international 
        tribunal for prosecuting terrorists;
            (10) in the One Hundredth Congress, in the Anti-Drug Abuse 
        Act of 1988, it was expressed as the sense of the Senate that 
        the President should begin discussions with foreign governments 
        to investigate the feasibility and advisability of establishing 
        an international criminal court to expedite cases regarding the 
        prosecution of persons accused of having engaged in 
        international drug trafficking or having committed 
        international crimes;
            (11) the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 
        44/39 on December 4, 1989, calling on the International Law 
        Commission to study the feasibility of an international 
        criminal court;
            (12) the draft report of the International Law Commission 
        issued in July 1990, expressed the Commission's agreement in 
        principle with the idea of establishing a permanent 
        international criminal court;
            (13) in the One Hundred First Congress, in the Foreign 
        Operations Appropriations Act, Congress required the President 
        and the Judicial Conference of the United States to report to 
        the Congress on the establishment of an international criminal 
        court;
            (14) in the One Hundred Second Congress, the Senate passed, 
        as part of the Persian Gulf War Criminals Act of 1991, a 
        proposal calling on the President to propose to the United 
        Nations the establishment of an international criminal tribunal 
        to prosecute Persian Gulf War criminals;
            (15) in 1992 the American Bar Association adopted a 
        resolution calling on the United States Government to work 
        toward solving the legal and practical issues regarding the 
        establishment of an international criminal court;
            (16) the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 
        47/33 on November 25, 1992, calling on the International Law 
        Commission to begin the process of drafting a statute for an 
        international criminal court at its next session;
            (17) the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 
        808 on February 22, 1993, establishing a war crimes tribunal to 
        prosecute persons responsible for violations of international 
        law in the territory of the former Yugoslavia;
            (18) the time has come for the United States to advocate 
        the establishment of a permanent international criminal court 
        and to assist in the preparation of a code under which such a 
        court can operate and in the establishment of the court.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that the President, acting through 
the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United 
Nations, should support the efforts of the United Nations and the 
International Law Commission to establish an international criminal 
court with jurisdiction over violations of international law and crimes 
of an international character, including war crimes, acts of terrorism, 
and drug trafficking, and should provide any assistance necessary to 
expedite the establishment of such a court.

SEC. 3. REQUIRED REPORT.

    Not later than December 1, 1993, the President shall submit to the 
Congress a detailed report in developments relating to, and United 
States efforts in support of, the establishment of an international 
criminal court.

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