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Jordian Parliament Urged to Reject Bilateral Immunity Agreement
Jordanian Parliament Urged to Reject Bilateral Immunity Agreement
December 8 -- Leading human rights organizations have called for Jordan's
lower house of parliament to refuse ratification of a Bilateral Immunity
Agreement (BIA) that had been signed by King Abdullah last December.
Jordan's upper house of parliament had endorsed the measure, but calls have
been made for that body to rescind its decision and instead reject the
agreement. If Jordan does not sign the BIA, it risks losing $250 million in
Economic Support Funds (ESF) from the U.S. These funds support critical rule
of law, democracy, and anti-terrorism programs in Jordan.
As a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Jordan is one of
eleven U.S. allies threatened with the suspension of ESF aid if it does not
enter a BIA with
the U.S. Under a BIA, countries agree not to extradite U.S. nationals found
within their territories to the jurisdiction of the ICC for prosecution of
war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The Bush administration
has actively pushed for BIAs to be conducted with all countries worldwide.
Under the
Nethercutt Amendment, ICC members who have not signed BIAs risk losing
more than $326 million in ESF. In addition to these funds, ICC member
countries that do not sign a BIA with the U.S. will also lose International
Military and Education Training (IMET) and Foreign Military Financing (FMF)
as a result of the
American Servicemembers Protection Act of 2002.
Updated December 8, 2005
