BIA: Congress, President Bush Re-evaluate Counterproductive BIA Campaign

October 25, 2006 – In a move that demonstrated a re-evaluation of the U.S.’ anti-ICC Bilateral Immunity Agreement (BIA) policy, Congress amended the American Servicemembers Protection Act (ASPA) in the Fiscal Year 2007 Defense Authorization Bill on September 29, 2006.

The amendment, introduced in July by Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), exempts one category of military aid, namely International Military Education and Training (IMET) aid, from being cut to twenty-one ICC member states that have refused to sign blanket immunity agreements with the U.S. President Bush mirrored this amendment by issuing waivers for IMET cuts to these countries three days after the ASPA amendment was adopted by Congress.

ASPA was passed by Congress in 2002 following President Bush’s “unsigning” of the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC. ASPA expressly conditioned military aid on the execution of BIAs between ICC member states and the U.S. Many of these countries are U.S. friends and allies, and were forced to choose between violating their obligations under international law or risk losing millions of dollars in aid. The recent actions by Congress and President Bush demonstrate a re-evaluation of this strong-arming, counterproductive BIA policy.

The twenty-one countries that the are now exempted from IMET cuts under Congress’ amendment to ASPA include Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, Kenya, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Namibia, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, Samoa, Serbia, South Africa, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

Read Citizens for Global Solutions’ statement on the Congressional amendment and Presidential waiver.
Read the full text of the amendment in the FY 2007 Defense Authorization Bill
Read the President’s memorandum issuing waivers for IMET cuts.