BIA: Jordanian Parliament Bows to U.S. Pressure, Approves BIA

 This week, the Jordanian Parliament’s Lower House bowed to U.S. political and economic pressure and approved a Bilateral Immunity Agreement (BIA) with the U.S. Under this BIA, Jordan has agreed to refrain from surrendering any U.S. personnel accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The U.S. is staunchly opposed to the ICC and has aggressively undertaken a BIA campaign with almost every country in the world, in particular countries that are members of the ICC, including Jordan. In its 2005 and 2006 Foreign Operations Appropriations Bills, U.S. Congress conditioned its disbursement of critical Economic Support Funds (ESF) to ICC member states on the execution of a BIA. Jordan had originally been slated to receive $250 million in ESF, intended for rule of law, human rights, and good governance programs, but risked losing these funds without a BIA.

The Lower House of Parliament approved the BIA by a majority vote in its 110-member house. MPs who vote in favor of the BIA’s ratification cited “political and economic interests” for Jordan.

Leading human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) had earnestly appealed to the Jordanian Parliament for the past six months to reject the BIA.

Last July, the Lower House explicitly stated that approving a BIA with the U.S. would “undermine [Jordan’s] sovereignty.” Sunday’s decision, however, demonstrates the success of U.S. strong-arm tactics with respect to BIAs and ICC member states.

Jordan is the only country in the Middle East who is a member of the ICC, and currently has a judge serving on the Court.

Updated January 9, 2006