The Economic Support Fund The Economic Support Fund (ESF) promotes America’s foreign policy interests by providing assistance to key U.S. allies and countries in democratic transition. The fund assists Middle East peace negotiations and finances economic stabilization programs, often in a multi-donor context. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),...

US Allies and BIAs European Union:   On September 30, 2002,  the Council of the European Union (which consists of the prime ministers and foreign ministers of the 15 EU nations) released guiding principles for member countries considering bilateral agreements with the U.S.  Importantly, these principles state that "Entering into US agreements - as presently dra...

Senator Patrick Leahy Mr. President, I read with interest the statement that Representative Hyde made on July 23, 2002 about the American Servicemembers’ Protection Act (ASPA) during House consideration of the conference report on H.R. 4775, the fiscal year 2002 Supplemental Appropriations bill for Further Recovery From and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United...

Senator Christopher Dodd's (D-CT) Statement on the ASPA July 24, 2002 Madam President, I rise to comment briefly about Title II, the American Service Members Protection Act of H.R. 4775 in order to clarify the Senate's intent in insisting on the retention of Sec. 2015 of that Title which was added during Senate consideration of the supplemental. I read with inter...

2006 BIA Database 2006 BIA Database After months of research and analysis, Citizens for Global Solutions has compiled a comprehensive 2006 Bilateral Immunity Agreement (BIA) Database. Covering both U.S. Economic Support Funds (ESF) and military aid, the Database outlines the status and amount of each type of aid requested, received, and cut for ICC member and no...

Nethercutt Amendment Under the Nethercutt Amendment , originally passed as part of the Fiscal Year 2005 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill and reauthorized in the Fiscal Year 2006 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, countries that belong to the ICC are not eligible for U.S. Economic Support Funds (ESF) unless the President waives the requirement for national in...

American Servicemember's Protection Act The American Servicemembers' Protection Act (ASPA), originally signed into law in August 2002, prohibits the United States from providing military aid to countries that have ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). ASPA effectively limits U.S. cooperation with the International Criminal Court, rest...

Legal Debate Over BIAs The bilateral immunity agreements (BIAs) proposed by the U.S. government are illegal under the Rome Statute and are not required by U.S. law. Text of Article 98(2) of the Rome Statute: "The Court may not proceed with a request for surrender which would require the requested State to act inconsistently with its obligations under internation...