<%-- Page Title--%> Law Advocacy <%-- End Page Title--%>

July 6, 2003 

AI open letter to the Prime Minister

Dear Prime Minister,
Amnesty International is concerned about reports that the Government of Bangladesh is considering signing a bilateral agreement with the United States of America (USA) providing impunity to any USA nationals within its territory if a warrant of arrest or surrender has been issued against them by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on grounds of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed anywhere including crime committed on the territory of your state.
Amnesty International is writing to urge you to refuse to sign this agreement, as it would violate Bangladesh's obligations under international law, including the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 9 December 1948 (Genocide Convention) which was ratified by Bangladesh on 5 October 1998.
Signing the above mentioned agreement with the USA will violate Bangladesh's obligation under Article 4 of the Genocide Convention.In addition, Bangladesh would be in breach of Article 6 of that convention.
Amnesty International has been working towards the establishment of the ICC for nearly 10 years, believing that it is an essential mechanism to end impunity for the worst crimes known to humanity. No one should have impunity for these crimes.
Amnesty International is confident that the ICC, with 18 of the highest qualified and respected judges in the international community and a highly qualified and experienced Prosecutor will allay the US government's concerns and that the US government will in due course change its position.
Amnesty International hopes that you will consider the following legal arguments against impunity agreements which are set out in detail in International Criminal Court: US efforts to obtain impunity for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Impunity agreements are unlawful because they commit states to violate their legal obligations under international law, including the Rome Statute, to bring those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes to justice.
Impunity agreements are not permitted by the Rome Statute. US assertions that the agreements are provided for in Article 98 of the Statute are incorrect, as numerous legal analyses, including by Amnesty International, conclude.
Impunity agreements contain no assurance that if US nationals are not surrendered to the ICC they will be brought to justice in the USA or anywhere else. In fact, in some cases the US judicial system would not be able to do so as US criminal law does not include many of the crimes under international law included in the Rome Statute.
The European Union's legal experts have also analysed the agreement and have reached the same conclusion: "entering into US agreements - as presently drafted - would be inconsistent with ICC States Parties' obligations with regard to the ICC Statute and may be inconsistent with other international agreements to which ICC States Parties are Parties."
A state ratifying such an impunity agreement would also give up its sovereign right to decide which court - whether one of its own courts, the courts of another state seeking extradition or the ICC - would exercise jurisdiction over persons found in its territory accused of crimes, including crimes in its own territory.
If the USA decided not to investigate or prosecute the accused, the state that surrendered the person would have no way to compel the accused to return for investigation and prosecution in its courts, or the courts of another state, or to ensure the surrender of the accused to the ICC.
AI would also like to point out that so far, to the best of our knowledge, the USA has not taken retaliatory measures against any state that has refused to sign such agreements. The American Service members' Protection Act, which authorises withdrawal of military assistance also, provides that the President may waive it at any time for reasons of 'national interest'. There is therefore no obligation on the US Administration to cease military aid if an impunity agreement is not signed.
We hope that you will refuse to enter into this agreement or any agreement that seeks to provide impunity to anyone accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. We also hope that you will take steps to promote Bangladesh's ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as soon as possible.