United Nations, May 20: The United States circulated a draft Security Council resolution to give US peacekeeping troops another one-year exemption from prosecution by the world court at the Hague.
The measure, taken yesterday, is likely to face misgivings after revelations that US troops abused prisoners in Iraq, and human rights watch told it would issue a strong statement about the proposal today.
Washington at first signed the treaty establishing the court but later backed out, saying it feared the tribunal would be politicised and that its troops abroad could be charged for war crimes.
The United States has since persuaded more than 60 countries to agree to bilateral immunity deals, lobbying hard and threatening to cut military assistance to those that do
not sign an accord.
Under the draft resolution, nations which have not ratified the court's founding statute would be exempt from investigation or prosecution for 12 months.
It also specifies that the one-year period is renewable "for as long as may be necessary." Diplomats said the United States would try to push for a vote tomorrow.
But with outrage high over the treatment of Iraqi prisoners, it was not immediately clear if the US would be able to muster strong support on the 15-nation council.
When the existing one-year immunity resolution was passed last year, three nations abstained and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan warned the council could undermine its own authority if exemption became "an annual routine".
Bureau Report
