I. INTRODUCTION When President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush greeted Mexican President Vicente Fox and his wife Martha Sahagun de Fox at the administration's first State Dinner at the White House on Sept. 5, 2001, the intent of the administration to prioritize U.S.-Latin America relations seemed both strong and clear. Indeed, the newly elected President Bush was very focused on U.S.-Mexico ...

The International Criminal Court ruled Monday that Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, charged with recruiting child soldiers as young as 10 and sending them into battle, will be the first defendant to face trial at the newly established court. At a public hearing in The Hague, presiding Judge Claude Jorda announced that evidence presented by prosecutors was sufficient to "establish st...

The Politico Nearly two-and-a-half years ago, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell said that the Government of Sudan was responsible for committing genocide in Darfur. Powell's statement represented the first time in our nation's history that a senior government official had labeled the systematic killing of innocent people genocide. In 1994, the Clinton administration did a dance...

For the past four years, the Bush Administration has systematically set out to exempt the United States from the purview of the International Criminal Court. Using bullying tactics, it has often gotten its way. But at a cost. President Bush's disdain for the International Criminal Court has been clear all along. His Administration did everything in its power to sabotage its creation. ...

March 30, 2007 ? After years of targeted advocacy by civil society groups inside and outside of the country, the Parliament of Yemen ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC, paving the way for this Arab country to be the newest member of the Court. Amal Basha, Middle East and North Africa Coordinator for the Coalition for the ICC (CICC), praised the ratification and said, ?ratification of the I...

February 27, 2007 Washington, D.C. ? Citizens for Global Solutions, a leading U.S.-based advocacy group for a strong and effective International Criminal Court (ICC) welcomes the ICC?s identification of two perpetrators in the on-going Darfur atrocities. In his announcement from The Hague today, ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo requested a summons to appear for Ahmad Muhammad Har...

The Assembly of State Parties (ASP), the legislative body that oversees the mandate and progress of the ICC, will come together for its fifth annual meeting in The Hague, The Netherlands from November 23, 2006 ? December 1, 2006. Comprised of a representative from each country that is a member to the Court, the ASP meets regularly to decide key issues such as the Court?s budget and the...

Provided by the International Criminal Court Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan was elected to serve as the representative for the Asian Region on the Board. As First Lady, Queen Rania's activities encompass issues of national and international concern, such as the environment, youth development and human rights. Internationally, she serves on the Board of Directors of The Vaccine ...

In a historic decision, the ICC has invoked Article 68 of the Rome Statute and has accepted the first victims? applications to participate in criminal proceedings against suspected war criminals. On January 17, the ICC?s Pre-Trial Chamber I issued its first decision recognizing the right of six victims to participate in proceedings addressing the atrocities committed in the Democractic R...

On Friday, November 11, 2005 the United States Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2006 (FY 2006) Foreign Operations spending bill, which had been approved by the House of Representatives earlier in the month. The bill now goes to President Bush for his signature. While much analysis will be paid to the bottom line of the legislation ($20.9 billion), equal attention should be given to ...