WASHINGTON, June (LifeSiteNews.com) – US Senate and House Republicans have proposed the “American Servicemen’s Protection Act” to stop the International Criminal Court (ICC) from impinging on US sovereignty. Since the ICC will claim universal jurisdiction over even the US, which has opposed the international court and refused to sign the statute, the proposed law will address eventualities that might lead to conflict over US sovereignty.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms spoke on the bill Wednesday saying it “will bar any U.S. cooperation with the ICC, so long as the U.S. has not signed and ratified the Rome Treaty.” Given that the UN depends heavily on US personnel for its peacekeeping operations, the bill hits hard, requiring that “U.S. personnel be immunized from the ICC’s jurisdiction before the U.S. can participate in any UN peacekeeping operation.”
Helms says that “it prevents the transfer of classified national security information to the Court, and bans U.S. military assistance to any country that has ratified the Rome Treaty (with a waiver for U.S. allies who have agreements that protect Americans from extradition).” And finally it “authorizes the President to use all means necessary and appropriate to bring home any U.S. or Allied personnel detained against their will by or on behalf of the Court.”