[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 59 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 59

Expressing the sense of 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 in May 2010.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 21, 2010

Mr. Vitter (for himself, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Kyl, and Mr. Crapo) submitted 
    the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of 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 in May 2010.

Whereas President William 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 President-elect George W. Bush not submit the treaty to 
        the 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 Bush, through Undersecretary 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 law by claiming the authority in 
        certain circumstances to investigate and prosecute citizens and military 
        personnel of a country that is not a party to the treaty and has not 
        accepted the jurisdiction of the court;
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 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 Government 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 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 Senate (the House of Representatives 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 May 31, 2010.
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