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November 20, 2009

US: Security Council Should Define Aggression for ICC
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The Obama administration is urging the international community to accept
UN Security Council jurisdiction over defining crimes of aggression at
the International Criminal Court. Addressing a gathering of ICC
signatories Thursday, US war crimes ambassador Stephen Rapp said the
White House is concerned the court’s mandate to try aggression doesn’t
include a clear definition of what it means. Rapp said the decision
should be left up to the Security Council—where the US and four others
hold veto power. Rapp’s address marked the first US engagement with the
court since its founding in 2002. He made no mention of whether the US
intends to ratify the court’s treaty.



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