Venezuela Refuses to Sign Agreement with US over ICC

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, July 05, 2003

Venezuela Refuses to Sign Agreement with US over ICC

Venezuela has refused to sign an agreement with the United States which grants US citizens immunity from the International Criminal Court (ICC), a presidential statement said Friday.

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Venezuela has refused to sign an agreement with the United States which grants US citizens immunity from the International Criminal Court (ICC), a presidential statement said Friday.

The statement said the agreement demanded by the United States goes against national and international human rights laws.

"The compulsive way in which such an agreement has been sought goes against the principle of legal equality of states and due respect, which is the fundamental basis for healthy relations in the international community," said the statement.

"This proposal by the United States goes against the spirit andletter of the Treaty of Rome in regard to ICC to deal with war crimes."

The United States suspended more than 47 million dollars in military aid to 35 countries on Tuesday for their failure or refusal to give US citizens immunity from the ICC.

Besides Venezuela, the suspension also affects these Latin American countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Brazil,Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, St Vincent and Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay.

US officials said they would press these nations to sign bilateral immunity deals for the restoration of the assistance.

The ICC was established last year under the 1998 Treaty of Rometo try cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Washington, which doesn't recognize the authority of the ICC, has been busy forging bilateral accords on its citizens' immunity from the court.

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