The ICC and Lack of Credibility

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/07/us-warcrimes-congo-katanga-idUSBREA260GZ20140307

Of course it's a good thing that some of these murderers are being taken out of circulation and removed from command. The atrocities in Africa quickly multiply in part because of the remote locales (like Katanga) but also because few in the West seem to really care. I'm certain investigative journalists must at times completely despair over the seeming futility of their work.

But there are those who are also quite critical of the ICC. In some ways it seems to be a tool for Western powers to go after those they don't like and want to remove. The Court continues to bring charges against African warlords and dictators and a handful of characters from the Balkan Civil Wars who dared to resist NATO's expansion at the end of the Cold War.

However in almost every case these 'little men' have backers and are often operating at the behest of or in concert with larger players that you will never see brought up on charges in the court.

The ICC will never gain any credibility until it exercises power that is able to defy powerful states. Of course one of the foundations of US foreign policy rests in its refusal to sign any international treaties which could hold US actions to account. In addition its military relationships are always conditioned with SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) provisions which allow American soldiers to escape prosecution in other countries.

This has led to considerable rage in places like Korea and Japan where American soldiers are often able to get away with rape, drunken vehicular manslaughter and other crimes.

Some believe the ICC is gaining traction and building precedent and someday down the road it will finally be able to establish itself as a viable and credible institution. Others would say the ICC like the entire UN project itself will always be subject to the powers that are willing (or unwilling) to cooperate.

The real powers will always be reluctant to use the ICC against each other. If the Americans start dragging Chinese figures to the ICC, then they will certainly reciprocate. The ICC would be quickly dispensed with in the face of such an international crisis.

If the major players are never charged, if the Deng Xiaoping's, Putin's, Reagan's, Clinton's and Bush's are above the law then the court will always remain like the UN... an insignificant force.

One thinks of the recent Crimea Crisis. Ban Ki-moon gets on the television and expresses his disapproval, and the masters in the White House and Kremlin don't even bother to laugh. I'm sure they just change the channel. He's literally not worth listening to. Because at the end of the day the UN has only the power they choose to give it.

The ICC is no different and in that sense is not an international umbrella organization. It's little more than a tool that can be used when convenient and allowed to rust in the toolbox when no one wants it.