Document - Bhutan: Open letter regarding bi-lateral agreement with the USA concerning the International Criminal Court.

Amnesty International hopes that you will consider the following legal arguments against impunity agreements:

· 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. This article was designed to cover existing Status of Forces Agreements, which determine which state has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes committed by forces stationed in another country, not agreements designed to give nationals of one state impunity from international justice.
· 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 international crimes included in the Rome Statute.

These arguments are set out in detail in International Criminal Court: US efforts to obtain impunity for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes (AI Index: IOR 40/025/2002), published by Amnesty International in August 2002 and available from www.amnesty.org/icc/.

The European Union’s legal experts have also analysed the agreement and have reached the same conclusion: "[e]ntering 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." The European Union further issued guiding principles which Amnesty International analyses in International Criminal Court: The need for the European Union to take more effective steps to prevent members from signing US impunity agreements (AI Index: IOR 40/030/2002), published in October 2002 and available from www.amnesty.org/icc/.

Even though Bhutan has not signed or yet ratified the Rome Statute it should not ratify an impunity agreement with the US or refuse to arrest and surrender persons accused by the ICC.Doing so may violate Bhutan’s obligations under international law to bring to justice those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, particularly if Bhutan does not investigate and, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, prosecute such persons or extradite them to a state that will fulfil its international responsibilities.

The agreement that the government of Bhutan has signed goes against the will of the overwhelming majority of the international community to ensure that no one, regardless of their nationality or status, can plan and commit these heinous crimes with impunity. We hope Bhutan will reconsider this decision, and that you will promote accession to the Rome Statute to ensure Bhutan’s full support and participation in the ICC.


Yours sincerely,



Irene Khan
Secretary General

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Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street, WC1X 0DW, London, United Kingdom