[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 265 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 265

  Expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should 
  neither become a signatory to the Rome Statute on the International 
Criminal Court nor attend the Review Conference of the Rome Statute in 
              Kampala, Uganda, commencing on May 31, 2010.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 21, 2010

  Mr. Lamborn (for himself, Mr. Smith of Texas, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. 
McCotter, Mr. Garrett of New Jersey, Mr. Jones, Mr. Burton of Indiana, 
  Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Chaffetz, Mr. Latta, Mrs. Bachmann, Mr. 
 Pitts, Mr. Akin, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Conaway, Mr. King of 
    Iowa, Mr. McClintock, Mr. Gingrey of Georgia, Mr. Burgess, Mr. 
 Manzullo, Mr. Marchant, Mr. Brown of South Carolina, Mr. Wittman, Mr. 
  Jordan of Ohio, Mr. Poe of Texas, and Mr. Bilirakis) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should 
  neither become a signatory to the Rome Statute on the International 
Criminal Court nor attend the Review Conference of the Rome Statute in 
              Kampala, Uganda, commencing on May 31, 2010.

Whereas President Bill Clinton signed the Rome Statute on the International 
        Criminal Court (Rome Statute) through a designee on December 31, 2000, 
        but acknowledged ``significant flaws'' in the treaty, and recommended 
        that his successor not submit the treaty to the United States Senate for 
        advice and consent;
Whereas the ``significant flaws'' identified by President Clinton, including the 
        fact that the International Criminal Court (ICC) claims the power to 
        exercise authority and jurisdiction over the citizens of nations that 
        have not ratified the treaty, persist and have not been remedied;
Whereas President George W. Bush through Under Secretary of State for Arms 
        Control John Bolton notified United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan 
        on May 6, 2002, that the United States does not intend to become a party 
        to the Rome Statute and therefore has no legal obligations arising from 
        its signature on December 31, 2000;
Whereas the United States Government, acting through its elected 
        representatives, is the sole arbiter regarding decisions on the use of 
        military force in its defense or in the defense of its allies;
Whereas the Rome Statute undermines national sovereignty and established 
        principles of customary international norms by claiming the authority in 
        certain circumstances to investigate and prosecute citizens and military 
        personnel of a nation that is not a party to the treaty and has not 
        accepted the jurisdiction of the ICC;
Whereas the United Nations Security Council, upon which the United States holds 
        a permanent, veto-wielding seat, is conferred under the United Nations 
        Charter with ``primary responsibility for the maintenance of 
        international peace and security'';
Whereas the authority of the ICC inappropriately intrudes upon the United 
        Nations Security Council's primary responsibility under the United 
        Nations Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security;
Whereas in September 2009, the ICC Office of the Prosecutor announced that ICC 
        personnel were investigating accusations of war crimes and crimes 
        against humanity allegedly committed by United States and North Atlantic 
        Treaty Organization (NATO) forces fighting in Afghanistan;
Whereas the parties to the Rome Statute have failed to establish a definition of 
        the ``crime of aggression'';
Whereas the United States has at various times been accused of ``aggression'', 
        including the Congressionally authorized use of military force against 
        Iraq in 2003;
Whereas the Rome Statute would subject United States citizens and military 
        personnel charged with crimes before the ICC to trial and punishment 
        without the basic rights and protections provided to criminal defendants 
        and guaranteed by the United States Constitution, including a right to a 
        jury trial by one's peers, protection from double jeopardy, the right to 
        confront one's accusers, and the right to a speedy trial;
Whereas the first Review Conference on the Rome Statute will be held in Kampala, 
        Uganda, from May 31, 2010, to June 11, 2010, to consider amendments to 
        the Rome Statute and to take stock of its implementation and impact; and
Whereas the draft provisional agenda of the Review Conference indicates that the 
        Assembly of States Parties of the ICC has no intention of addressing the 
        grave and persistent concerns of the United States regarding the Rome 
        Statute: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the national interests of the United States are neither 
        preserved nor advanced by becoming a State Party to the Rome 
        Statute on the International Criminal Court;
            (2) the Rome Statute undermines the sovereignty of the 
        United States, hinders its ability to defend itself and its 
        allies with military force, and conflicts with the principles 
        of the United States Constitution;
            (3) President Barack Obama should declare that the United 
        States does not intend to ratify the Rome Statute and that the 
        United States does not presently consider itself to be a 
        signatory of the treaty; and
            (4) given that the Assembly of States Parties has no 
        discernable intention of addressing United States concerns 
        regarding the treaty, President Obama should neither attend nor 
        send a delegation to the Review Conference of the Rome Statute 
        in Kampala, Uganda, commencing on May 31, 2010.
                                 <all>