US Allies and BIAs

European Union:  
On September 30, 2002,  the Council of the European Union (which consists of the prime ministers and foreign ministers of the 15 EU nations) released guiding principles for member countries considering bilateral agreements with the U.S.  Importantly, these principles state that "Entering into US agreements - as presently drafted - would be inconsistent with ICC States Parties' obligations with regard to the ICC Statute."  For such an agreement to be legal for States Parties, it would need to include at least the following:

• No impunity: A guarantee that an appropriate investigation and potential prosecution would be undertaken by national jurisdictions.

• No reciprocity: The exclusion of nationals of ICC States Parties from coverage of such an agreement.

• No universal scope: The limitation of coverage to those persons present in a territory because they have by sent by a sending State (i.e., those conducting official business).

• Ratification: The agreement must be approved according to the constitutional procedures of each individual state.

In addition, the Council emphasized that the "Rome Statute provides all necessary safeguards against the use of the Court for politically motivated purposes," which is the chief expressed concern of the U.S.  Noting that the U.S. is entitled to be an observer to the Assembly of States Parties, the Council expressed interest in seeing the U.S. re-engage with the ICC process.  See 
+ REPORT OF THE EU COUNCIL (see page 9 for the ICC conclusions). 

African-Caribbean-Pacific Group of States/European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly:
At its meeting in Brazzaville (31 March - 3 April, 2003), the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly adopted a strong resolution in support of the ICC and against the U.S. proposed agreements, stating in part, "the current world-wide political pressure exerted by the Government of the USA to persuade States Parties and Signatory States of the Rome Statute, as well as nonsignatory states, to enter into bilateral immunity agreements which seek, through the misuse of Article 98, to prevent U.S. government officials, employees, military personnel or nationals from being surrendered to the ICC, should not succeed with any country, in particular with the EU or ACP Member States."  
+ RESOLUTION TEXT

Germany and Canada
These two important allies have explicitly refused to consider U.S. impunity agreements. On November 4, 2002, Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham announced that Canada considers an existing agreement covering the conduct of U.S. personnel on Canadian soil sufficient to meet U.S. concerns. After the Council of the European Union released its conclusions on September 30, 2002, German Foreign Minister Fisher announced that "We [Germany] are against the conclusion of special agreements and we will not conclude such an agreement." More recently, Germany has released its own analysis and interpretation of the EU conclusions. 
+ GERMAN PAPER (in English)

European Parliament
On September 26, 2002,  the European Parliament (the elected legislative body representing the 15 EU nations) issued a resolution expressing regret over UN Security Council 1422 and stating that "no immunity agreement should ever afford the possibility of impunity for any individual accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide." The resolution underlines that international treaty law prohibits States Parties from entering into "immunity agreements," expresses disappointment over the Romanian agreement with the U.S., and warns potential members that "ratifying such an agreement is incompatible with membership of the EU."  
+ RESOLUTION TEXT

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
On September 25, 2002, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (a deliberative body with proportional representation from 44 European democracies) issued a resolution expressing concern over "the efforts of some States to undermine the integrity of the ICC Treaty" by concluding "exemption agreements." The Parliamentary Assembly urged member and observer states not to enter into any bilateral exemption agreements, which it considers "not admissible" under international treaty law. Specifically, the resolution calls on Romania not ratify its agreement with the US and encourages the US to "join the majority of democratic States in their support for the ICC."  
+ RESOLUTION 1300: "Risks for the integrity of the Statute of the International Criminal Court."