The UN Security Council voted unanimously to exempt American peacekeepers from prosecution by the new global war crimes court for a year, a deal that ends US threats to UN missions around the world.
After a firestorm of protests against the Bush administration's stance, the 15-member council last night approved a revised resolution on the International Criminal Court following agreement from Mexico, the last hold out.
"It offers us a degree of protection for the coming year," US Ambassador John Negroponte said after the vote. But he warned countries - in effect Washington's closest allies - they could expect "serious consequences" if any American were ever detained by the court.
The council's vote culminated weeks of bitterness between the United States and its allies. But many supporters of the court, including UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, were satisfied the resolution did not violate a treaty setting up the tribunal, considered a landmark in international law.
The resolution asks the tribunal to allow a 12-month grace period before investigating or prosecuting UN peacekeepers from countries that do not support the court "if a case arises" and "unless the Security Council decides otherwise."
It expresses the council's intention to renew the resolution in a year but does not commit it to do so, as Washington had wanted in its search for cast-iron guarantees.
Following fierce objections from allies that included the 15 European Union members, Canada, Mexico and others, the United States backed away from seeking permanent immunity for its soldiers and civilians.
The International Criminal Court was set up to try individuals for the world's most heinous atrocities: genocide, war crimes and gross human rights abuses. It is a belated effort to fulfill the promise of the Nuremberg trials 56 years ago in which Nazi leaders were prosecuted for new categories of human rights and war crimes.