A US-ICC Detente?

The Citizens for Global Solutions blog points me to this recent speech by State Department Legal Advisor John Bellinger III on the United States and International Law. In one portion, Bellinger discusses his government’s relationship with the International Criminal Court.

Over the past couple of years we have worked hard to demonstrate that we share the main goals and values of the Court. We did not oppose the Security Council’s referral of the Darfur situation to the ICC, and have expressed our willingness to consider assisting the ICC Prosecutor’s Darfur work should we receive an appropriate request. We supported the use of ICC facilities for the trial of Charles Taylor, which began this week here in The Hague. These steps reflect our desire to find practical ways to work with ICC supporters to advance our shared goals of promoting international criminal justice.

The ICC’s three open war crimes investigations—Darfur, northern Uganda, and eastern Congos—are all in places that the united states has played a leading role in peace, justice, and reconciliation efforts. Bellinger’s speech suggests that at least some in the US government may be finding that the ICC is, in fact, complimenting American foreign policy objectives in these places.