WASHINGTON, Jan 2, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Outgoing US President Bill Clinton signed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Sunday January 31, 2000. With the signing Clinton fulfilled the predictions of social conservatives that he would use the last days of his rule to push his socialist agenda. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) blasted Clinton’s decision as “outrageous” and “inexplicable” and called it a “blatant attempt by a lame-duck president to tie the hands of his successor.” While the signature does not constitute final ratification of the ICC (which requires Senate approval) it does commit the US to continue to support the process of the ICC’s attempt at global governance.
Helms has long vowed to kill the ICC proposal if it ever came to the Senate and with that promise in mind Clinton said, “I will not, and do not recommend that my successor submit the Treaty to the Senate for advice and consent until our fundamental concerns are satisfied.” For his part, Helms renewed his commitment to fighting the ICC saying, “I will make reversing this decision, and protecting America’s fighting men and women from the jurisdiction of this international kangaroo court, one of my highest priorities in the new Congress.”
See Clinton’s speech at the signing of the Rome Statute: https://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/Current_Releases/0101-101.html
See more on Helms’ reaction from CNSNEWS: https://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=Politicsarchive