U.S. a No-Show for Start of 1st Global War Crimes Court
'Continuing a process that started in 1946 when Nazi leaders went on trial for war crimes, 18 international jurists will be sworn in as judges of the new International Criminal Court, which has a mandate to hear cases involving genocide, mass murder and other atrocities... the gala inauguration... will be attended by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and scores of visiting dignitaries, including two members of the Allied prosecution team at the Nuremberg trials.'

'Last year, President Bush revoked Clinton's signature, and later threatened to withhold U.S. support for UN peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia-Herzegovina unless the Security Council approved a blanket exemption for Americans in the peacekeeping force. The council granted a one-year exemption. Since then, the administration has sought bilateral agreements with individual nations, threatening to cut off military aid unless they agree to not hand over a U.S. citizen to the court. So far, 20 nations have signed such accords. Human-rights advocates have criticized the Bush administration for seeking to undermine the fledgling court'

U.S. a No-Show for Start of 1st Global War Crimes Court
'Continuing a process that started in 1946 when Nazi leaders went on trial for war crimes, 18 international jurists will be sworn in as judges of the new International Criminal Court, which has a mandate to hear cases involving genocide, mass murder and other atrocities... the gala inauguration... will be attended by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and scores of visiting dignitaries, including two members of the Allied prosecution team at the Nuremberg trials.'

'Last year, President Bush revoked Clinton's signature, and later threatened to withhold U.S. support for UN peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia-Herzegovina unless the Security Council approved a blanket exemption for Americans in the peacekeeping force. The council granted a one-year exemption. Since then, the administration has sought bilateral agreements with individual nations, threatening to cut off military aid unless they agree to not hand over a U.S. citizen to the court. So far, 20 nations have signed such accords. Human-rights advocates have criticized the Bush administration for seeking to undermine the fledgling court'