March 4, 2003
The US State Department said on Monday that Rwanda and the United States have agreed to exempt each other's citizens from prosecution in the International Criminal Court (ICC) without the consent of the other government, according to Reuters news service.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Rwandan Foreign Minister Charles Murigande were due to sign the accord, known as an Article 98 agreement after the relevant section of the treaty setting up the court, at the State Department on Tuesday.
Reuters reported that Washington objects to the ICC on the grounds that it could attract politically motivated prosecutions of US civilian and military leaders. The US signed the treaty creating the ICC under former President Bill Clinton, but it has never been submitted to the Senate for ratification, and the Bush administration last May decided to renounce any obligation to cooperate.
According to Reuters, the US is seeking Article 98 agreements with as many countries as possible. Rwanda will be the 22nd country to sign such an agreement with the US. The others are Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, the Dominican Republic, East Timor, El Salvador, The Gambia, Georgia, Honduras, India, Israel, the Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia, Nepal, Palau, Romania, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tuvalu and Uzbekistan.
Meanwhile, Rwandan President Paul Kagame is scheduled to hold talks with US President George W. Bush at the White House in Washington DC on Tuesday. Kagame arrived in the US on Sunday for an official visit. Kagame and Bush are expected to discuss ties between the two countries and the prevailing insecurity situation in the Great Lakes region.
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